A conservative Australian lawmaker and an American faith activist are accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government of waging what they call a “hyper-partisan witch-hunt” against a Christian denomination over its members’ political activity in the country’s 2025 national elections.
The allegation, detailed in a Daily Wire opinion piece by Lucas Miles, Vice President of Faith for Turning Point USA, centers on the treatment of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) — a fellowship of roughly 55,000 members worldwide, about 7,000 of whom live in North America — by a post-election parliamentary committee.
According to the piece, that committee has summoned PBCC members to appear more than twice as often as officials from the Australian Electoral Commission, the independent body that administers federal elections. The committee has reportedly gone further, threatening to subpoena the church’s senior leader, Bruce Hales, an unpaid member of the congregation.
The article argues that Labor is conflating individual members’ support for the party’s opponents in 2025 with a coordinated effort by the church itself. It notes that, according to PBCC’s own testimony, Hales had no involvement in the election — he did not campaign, donate, or volunteer for any candidate, nor did he direct congregants to act on any candidate’s behalf.
Church Leader Says ‘Truth Will Prevail’
Hales struck a defiant but measured tone in comments included in the piece. “There has been considerable misinformation spread by the press, but I am completely confident that truth will prevail and God’s rights in upholding government will be upheld,” he said. The author added his own hope that Hales is correct.
The episode is framed in the article as part of a broader global pattern. It cites data indicating that one in seven Christians faces discrimination because of their faith, and that Christians were targeted by governments or individuals in 165 of 198 countries in 2023 — more than any other religious group.
Against that backdrop, the piece points to President Donald Trump’s recently announced nomination of Cissie Graham Lynch, daughter of the Rev. Franklin Graham, as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. It also notes Trump’s past remarks before the United Nations, in which he said “Christians are being persecuted all over the world” and described the “violent persecution of Christians” as a “barbaric evil.”
Despite that stated American commitment, the article contends that the same forces behind the Australian campaign have a presence on U.S. soil, warning that if Democrats win control of the House or Senate in November’s midterm elections, they would command the same kinds of committees and investigative tools now being leveled at Australia’s Christians.
U.N. Ambitions and a Warning to American Christians
The piece also draws attention to Albanese’s September address at the United Nations General Assembly, where he launched Australia’s bid for a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council in 2029. It notes the apparent irony of a government accused of pressuring a religious group pursuing a role in a body whose Declaration of Human Rights enshrines freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
Lloyd Grimshaw, a spokesperson for the Plymouth Brethren, offered an opening statement to the committee that the article quotes as a warning: “If religious discrimination such as what we witnessed in the 2025 election is allowed to start with my Church, it certainly won’t end with my Church.”
The author, writing from a conservative Christian perspective, urges American believers to treat the Australian situation as a cautionary tale about how domestic political power can be turned against religious communities — and to pay attention while there is still time to act.
Albanese has publicly positioned himself as a friend of President Trump and a close ally of the United States, a relationship the piece argues sits uneasily alongside the treatment of a Christian denomination at home. The Australian government has not responded to the specific allegations raised in the piece.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-a-u-s-ally-is-engaging-in-anti-christian-lawfare