Advance (lobby group)
| Formation | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Conservative political campaigning |
| Headquarters | Brisbane[1] |
| Membership | 306,000 [2] |
| Website | advanceaustralia |
Advance, stylised as ADVANCE and formerly known as Advance Australia, is a conservative political lobbying group launched in 2018 to counter the progressive lobbying group GetUp.[3][4]
Structure and funding
[edit]| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in Australia |
|---|
 |
Advance's leadership is ‘mostly composed of former Liberal Party operatives.’[5] The national director of Advance Australia was Gerard Benedet, a former Liberal Party staffer who led the organisation during the 2019 Australian federal election.[6] Benedet stood down in September 2019, and was replaced by Liz Storer, former City of Gosnells councillor,[7][8] and advisor to ex-Liberal senator Zed Seselja.[9] Former Primer Minister Tony Abbott has provided strategic advice to the organisation.[10]
High-profile backers have included businessmen such as Maurice Newman, Kennards Self Storage managing director Sam Kennard, and Australian Jewish Association president David Adler.[4][6] Other members of the advisory council have included security specialist Sean Jacobs and journalist Kerry Wakefield.[11] Queensland businessman James Power is also said to have been involved.[12]
In its first four months, Advance Australia raised $395,000 and signed up 27,500 members.[6] By May 2019, it had raised $1.7 million, according to Benedet.[13] It raises money through donations on its website.[14] Benedet says the membership is 60 per cent male and has an average age of about 50.[1]
Advance Australia has been accused of astroturfing and being little more than a front for the Liberal Party.[15] Advance Australia's independence has yet to be tested by the electoral commission in the same manner as similar lobby groups have.[16]
As of May 2023[update] the group had been renamed simply "Advance".[3]
In 2022–2023 Advance raised $5.2 million in donations according to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). This was more than $2.5 million it got in 2021–2022.[17]
Policies
[edit]The group says it opposes left-wing activists who it says are trying to change the Australian way of life. It decries radicalism and political correctness, and says, "Mainstream values have been the bedrock of Australia's growth as a western liberal democracy".[18] It promotes family values, free markets, meritocracy, business, a Judeo-Christian heritage, a strong defence force and national borders.[19][20][21][22][23][24] The group believes that anthropogenic climate change is a "hoax",[9] with current national director Liz Storer describing the teaching of the predominant scientific view as "the other side of the story being shoved down their throats. It's already happening. The left have infiltrated our education systems. Any aware parent knows that their child is being taught the left's ideology."[9]
Campaigns
[edit]Climate campaigns
[edit]Advance Australia's national director Liz Storer vowed upon her appointment in September 2019 to target the "militant advance of climate activism" and in particular, the protest group Extinction Rebellion, whom she described as "criminals who pose a menace to society".[25]
In 2020, Advance Australia commenced a campaign aimed at children with an e-book titled "10 climate facts to expose the climate change hoax". They claim that a "consensus" goes against the "scientific method" and that there are many recognised scientists who do not agree that human generation of CO
2 is the "control knob" of climate. The group are seeking to have their material distributed in classrooms. However the New South Wales Department of Education has stated it would not allow Advance Australia's in schools as they are not objective and would be in violation of the Controversial Issues in Schools policy. The Victorian Education Minister James Merlino has described the book as "rubbish", adding "this organisation is a front for a group of ill-informed climate change deniers".[9]
In 2024, Advance, along with the Liberal Party, ran a campaign against the Albanese government's policy to introduce fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. The group claimed, wrongly, that this policy was a tax,[26] and published an advertisement featuring a picture of National Farmers Federation President David Jochinke without his permission, with the farmers lobby saying it had “significant policy differences” to Advance on “important issues including climate change” and that it was “committed” to “helping Australia” achieve net zero.[27] The government's plan was a response to that Australian passenger vehicles are emitting 50% more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than the average of the world's major markets[28] and claims that the policy would see vehicles such as the Toyota Hilux increase in price were fact checked and found to be ‘wrong.’[26]
Online petitions
[edit]The earliest campaigns of Advance Australia were online petitions to:
- keep Australia Day on January 26 to mark the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival[29]
- oppose plans by the Labor Party to scrap dividend imputation tax refunds for retirees with superannuation[30]
- oppose targets set by the Labor Party to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.[31]
Ongoing campaigns of Advance Australia are online petitions to:
2019 federal election
[edit]During the 2019 federal election campaign:
- costumed characters named Captain GetUp and Freddie Foreign Money appeared in electorates where GetUp was trying to unseat Liberals who had been key supporters of a leadership challenge by Peter Dutton[33][34]
- a documentary-style series was launched on social media attacking GetUp.[35]
2022 federal election
[edit]During the 2022 federal election campaign:
- a truck featuring a giant billboard with a picture of Chinese leader and CCP general secretary Xi Jinping casting his primary vote for Labor. Beside him, the words "CCP (Chinese Communist Party) says vote Labor".[36][37][38]
- corflute signs attacking David Pocock, an Independent candidate for a Senate seat in the 2022 Australian federal election. The signs implied that he was secretly a Greens candidate, by showing him in a "Superman" pose tearing his shirt to reveal the Greens logo. Pocock complained to the Australian Electoral Commission about this inference.[39] Advance Australia agreed to stop displaying the signs at the request of the AEC, who believed they were in breach of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.[40]
2022–2023: Indigenous Voice to Parliament
[edit]Advance has set up campaigns to oppose the Voice to Parliament,[41] encouraging voters to vote No in the 2023 referendum on the matter. Its campaigns include a new social media advertising campaign titled "The Voice is Not Enough" (or just "Not Enough"),[42] aimed at a young demographic and targeting the "progressive no" vote, suggesting that the Voice would be too weak, or is not the main priority for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As part of this campaign, they have misrepresented the views of some Indigenous people and used others' photos without their permission.[43] It has also created a "Referendum News" Facebook page,[44] which shows only anti-Voice posts, and by May 2023 the group had spent thousands of dollars on Facebook and Instagram ads.[3]
In July 2023, a cartoon ad run by Advance Australia in the Australian Financial Review, featuring caricatures of Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo, MP and Yes advocate Kate Chaney, and her father businessman Michael Chaney, led to bipartisan condemnation of the ad as "racist".[45] The AFR later apologised for publishing the ad.[46][47]
The vote No in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum was successful with 60% voting No.
2024: Dunkley by-election
[edit]Advance spent nearly $300,000 running advertising against Labor in the 2024 by-election for the federal seat of Dunkley in southeastern Melbourne, triggered by the death of sitting Labor MP Peta Murphy. Its campaign was described variously as ‘Trumpian’, ‘misinformation’ and a ‘fear campaign.’[5][48] Despite Advance's efforts, Labor held the seat.
Reception
[edit]The group has been criticised, primarily by progressive groups, for distributing misinformation[49] and for purportedly campaigning for the Liberal Party, to which Advance has close links.[50] it has been criticised for not revealing where much of its funding comes from[51] and for criticising ‘elites’, while receiving significant funding from the rich and powerful.[52][53]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Seo, Bo (23 April 2019). "GetUp and Advance Australia go head-to-head". Australian Financial Review. Nine Publishing. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Anti-voice activists to target Greens". theaustralian. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Cam (22 May 2023). "Anti-Voice 'news' Facebook page is run by the No camp, but you wouldn't know it". Crikey. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ a b McGhee, Ashlynne (21 November 2018). "What is Advance Australia, the new conservative lobby group taking on Get Up!". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Liberals distance themselves from right-wing group's 'rapists, murderers' scare campaign". 23 February 2024. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ^ a b c Koslowski, Max (16 March 2019). "Meet Gerard Benedet, the man who could save conservatives - or take them down with him". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Publishing. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Loussikian, Kylar; Hutchinson, Samantha (12 September 2019). "Benedet bows out of Advance Australia". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ "Former Gosnells Councillor takes over as head of advanced Australia". Out In Perth. 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d Koziol, Michael (15 February 2020). "We want to see balance right wing activists target primary school children on climate". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "What are 'Advance' and 'Fair Australia', and why are they spearheading the 'no' campaign on the Voice?". 25 July 2023. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "Advisory Council". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ MacCallum, Mungo (26 November 2018). "Advance Australia – where?". The Monthly. Morry Schwartz. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ Katherine Gregory (10 May 2019). "Proxy War: the outsiders campaigning for the major parties". Radio National Breakfast (Podcast). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Event occurs at 3:01. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ George and Paul (24 November 2018). "Gerard Benedet". 2GB (Podcast). Macquarie Media. Event occurs at 06:34. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Katherine Gregory (10 May 2019). "Proxy War: the outsiders campaigning for the major parties". Radio National Breakfast (Podcast). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Event occurs at 3:43. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ Koziol, Michael (18 February 2019). "Win for GetUp! as Electoral Commission rules it's not formally linked to Labor or the Greens". The Age. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ Canales, Sarah Basford; Evershed, Nick (2 February 2024). "Rightwing lobby group Advance Australia doubles donation revenue but half of donors unknown". The Guardian.
- ^ "(Home page)". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Our Beliefs". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Protecting Personal Freedoms". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Fighting Political Correctness". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Restoring a Fair Go & Family Values". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Ensuring a Safe and Secure Nation". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Creating Economic Opportunity". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Benson, Simon (16 October 2019). "Conservative alliance targets climate army". The Australian. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ a b "We fact checked Peter Dutton on whether Labor's new fuel efficiency standards are a 'ute tax'. Here's what we found". ABC News. 14 March 2024. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ ""Advance" caught in Farmers Federation ad sham". 8 March 2024. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Australian passenger vehicle emission rates are 50% higher than the rest of the world – and it's getting worse". 21 February 2024. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Save Australia Day". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Sign the petition today to support hard working retirees and tell politicians - Hands off our super!". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Australians can't afford Labor's Supercharged Carbon Tax". Advance Australia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Front and Centre". Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ Maley, Jacqueline (17 April 2019). "Conservative lobby group makes police complaint of death threat against "unmasked" Captain GetUp". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Koslowski, Max (13 March 2019). "Advance Australia, the conservative GetUp!, comes to Tony Abbott's rescue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Publishing. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
... It will focus on the seats of Dickson, Deakin, Boothby and Warringah, held respectively by Peter Dutton, Michael Sukkar, Nicolle Flint and Mr Abbott ... Advance Australia will also campaign in Indi, the regional Victorian seat which is wide open following independent Cathy McGowan's decision to retire.
- ^ Davidson, Helen (1 May 2019). "Campaign lurches to wilder shores: GetUp as gateway drug to a global socialist agenda". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Behind the lobby group authorising the "CCP says vote Labor" ads that are causing a stir". Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
- ^ "Right-wing group warned over anti-Labor ads with Xi Jinping". 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
- ^ "Mark McGowan condemns "morons" for displaying ads outside his home linking Labor with China". The Guardian. 6 April 2022.
- ^ Independent ACT Senate candidate David Pocock lodges complaint over "false" election corflutes Archived 27 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Isaac Nowroozi, ABC News Online, 27 April 2022
- ^ "AEC Statement: Advance Australia signage". Australian Electoral Commission. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Sign this open letter to tell Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton".
- ^ "The Voice is not enough: vote now". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ Campbell, David (2 June 2023). "No campaign accused of misrepresenting First Nations commentators in youth-targeted advertisements". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ "Referendum News". Facebook. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ Worthington, Brett (6 July 2023). "No campaign advertisement dubbed 'personal and racist attack' on Voice Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo". ABC News. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ Butler, Josh (6 July 2023). "AFR apologises for running voice no campaign ad featuring 'racist trope'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ Wedesweiler, Madeleine (6 July 2023). "Australian newspaper apologises over 'racist' ad from No campaign". SBS News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Albanese will be hoping for a win in the Dunkley by-election. But Advance is back as bold as ever, fighting with fear". ABC News. 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Who is behind Advance Australia and what's their next move?". 28 March 2024. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ Butler, Josh (22 February 2024). "Rightwing political group Advance mounts 'unprecedented' campaign against Labor in Dunkley". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ^ Canales, Sarah Basford; Evershed, Nick (2 February 2024). "Rightwing lobby group Advance Australia doubles donation revenue but half of donors unknown". The Guardian.
- ^ "Revealed: The elite money behind the No campaign". 14 September 2023. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ^ "The heavy hitters behind Australia's biggest conservative lobby group". February 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.