# Exclusive Brethren Leader Denies 2025 Election Interference

> Bruce Hales, global head of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, denied involvement in members' Liberal Party campaigning during a parliamentary inquiry into the 2025 Australian federal election.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-17T13:17:58.920988Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/exclusive-brethren-leader-denies-2025-election-interference-ebc8e170

Bruce Hales, the global head of the Exclusive Brethren, also known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), formally denied any knowledge of or involvement in church members volunteering for the Liberal Party during the 2025 Australian federal election at a parliamentary hearing on October 16, 2026 [1][5]. Hales explicitly stated he did not plan, coordinate, direct, or fund such activities [1]. The hearing is part of an inquiry investigating alleged interference in the 2025 federal election [1][5].

This parliamentary inquiry examines the role of religious organizations in political campaigns, raising questions about transparency, electoral influence, and the conduct of third-party campaigners in Australian democracy.

## What the records show
Hales' denials faced skepticism from some Members of Parliament [1]. Independent MP Andrew Gee reported that Brethren members filmed him, crowded him, and followed him between voting booths [2]. On September 24, 2026, former Northern Territory Labor leader Eva Lawler and NT-based federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour testified, describing "intimidating" behavior from PBCC members campaigning for the Country Liberal Party [15][16]. They alleged that men at Greater Darwin polling booths were intimidating and made derogatory comments about Labor and Aboriginal people [16].

Hales' son, Gareth Hales, admitted campaigning for the Liberal Party and encouraging congregants to do the same [1][17]. However, Gareth Hales maintained that his actions were in a personal capacity [1]. Reports from May 2025 indicated the federal Liberal Party provided sensitive voter information to the Exclusive Brethren, which reportedly led to nearly a million phone calls for the Coalition [7]. The Liberal Party's post-election review reportedly labeled the PBCC a "support group," a characterization Gareth Hales expressed surprise about [4][11][12][13]. The church also denied allegations during the parliamentary inquiry that it secretly paid "far-right figures" for campaign stunts against the Prime Minister and other Labor MPs [5][8].

## The parliamentary hearing
The October 16, 2026, hearing featured heated exchanges [2]. Coalition members likened the proceedings to "religious persecution" and a "Spanish Inquisition" [2]. Liberal MP Ben Small called the proceedings "patently ridiculous" [2]. Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie stated, "It's a lot like religious persecution to me" [2]. Committee chair Jerome Laxale noted that thousands of church members were present at polling places during the campaign [12].

## Public statements from the church leader
Bruce Hales' sermon from April 2025, which urged members to be "fervent in prayer for good government," was later used on Liberal Party billboards [9]. Hales claimed he had no knowledge of his sermon being used in this way and denied it was a call to action [9]. He also directly refuted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's characterization of his church as a "cult" [1][10]. Hales told MPs and senators about meeting then-opposition leader Peter Dutton at a petrol station, but denied any collusion on disrupting opposing candidates [11].

## What we could not confirm
We could not confirm the specific number of PBCC members who volunteered for the Liberal Party during the 2025 election [12][14]. The exact nature of the "sensitive voter information" provided by the Liberal Party to the Exclusive Brethren is not specified in the records [7]. We also could not confirm whether the alleged payments to "far-right figures" for campaign stunts actually occurred, as the church has denied these allegations [5][8]. The full findings or details of the Liberal Party's election review describing the PBCC as a "support group" are also not detailed [4][11][13].

## Evidence cited
1. Exclusive Brethren head denies knowing church members were volunteering for Liberal party during 2025 election (www.theguardian.com) — https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/16/exclusive-brethren-head-denies-knowing-church-members-volunteering-liberal-party-2025-election-ntwnfb
2. (October 16 2026) “This is patently ridiculous,” Liberal MP Ben Small said before Hales could answer. “This is not the Spanish inquisition, chair,” Liberal senator Richard Colbeck interjected, when Hales was asked again about alleged collusion with his sons on generating campaign material. “It's a lot like religious persecution to me,” Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie added. Independent Andrew Gee relayed his experience of being filmed, crowded and followed between voting booths by Breth — https://thenewdaily.com.au/
3. (October 16 2026) Bruce and Gareth Hales face Parliament over Brethren members' role in the 2025 Australian election campaign. Seven key exchanges on voting, church authority, secrecy, campaign messages and meetings with figures described at the hearing as far right. Bruce Hales is the world leader of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), also known as the Exclusive Brethren. His son Gareth was named by the committee among its most senior Australian members. Both gave evidence to the Jo — https://youtube.com/
4. (August 21 2026) Meanwhile, Labour MP Shayne Neumann said he estimated a thousand Brethren came out in his Queensland electorate during the 2025 campaign. He accused the Coalition of colluding with the church, quoting the Liberal Party's election review which described the Brethren as a “support group”, and called on
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(August 21 2026) Some Liberals have dismissed concern about the revelations as a witch hunt and religious discrimination. On Monday, this masthead published messages leaked  — https://facebook.com/
5. (October 16 2026) The most senior member of the Exclusive Brethren has denied any knowledge of or involvement in thousands of members from his church volunteering for the Liberal party at the 2025 election. The Plymouth Brethren christian church has rejected claims it coordinated volunteers and a campaign for the Coalition, and that it secretly paid far-right figures to stage stunts against the prime minister and other Labor MPs. The fiery parliamentary committee hearing on Friday was marred by  — https://blogspot.com/
6. Following on from this, our church was labelled as a cult by the most senior politician in Australia, and accused of interfering in the Australian electoral system, doing 'quid pro quo' deals with political parties, and launching a coordinated “assault on democracy”. None of these allegations are true. Everyone in Australia has the right to volunteer in elections irrespective of their religion, and that includes members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.
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The Plymouth Brethren Christi — https://plymouthbrethrenchristianchurch.org/
7. (May 14 2025) Exclusive Brethren made nearly a million calls for the Liberal Party. By Max Maddison and Paul Sakkal, May 14, 2025 — 5.00am. The federal Liberal Party handed over sensitive voter information to the Exclusive Brethren as part of a mammoth phone campaign in which members of the secretive Christian religious sect made nearly a million calls on behalf of the Coalition in the run-up to the federal election. Multiple sources in the NSW Liberal Party confirmed the keys to the communicati — https://reddit.com/
8. (August 21 2026) The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church denied at a parliamentary inquiry Friday that it secretly paid far-right influencers to stage stunts targeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other politicians during Australia's 2025 federal election. The church, formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren, also denied claims it coordinated hundreds of volunteers to support Liberal Party candidates at polling booths across the country. The denials came after Nine newspapers reported the  — https://northeasttimes.com/
9. (October 16 2026) On 20 April 2025, just under two weeks before the federal election, Bruce Hales gave a sermon where he told members to be “fervent in prayer for good government”, and that the country needed to be happy again and smiling again. skip past newsletter promotion. Free newsletter |When needed. Sign up to Breaking News Australia. Get the most important news as it breaks ... Bruce Hales denied his sermon was a call to action and said he had no knowledge of his words being used in bill — https://theguardian.com/
10. (May 04 2026) Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had flagged covert support between the Brethren and Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal Party in 2007, suggested that there was a “quid pro quo” between the PBCC and the Liberal Party. Both times, he bluntly labelled the Church a “cult”. Though the PBCC describes itself as a 'global Christian fellowship', many ex-members also use the term “cult”. Developments. As it stands, the PBCC denies all allegations relating to any coordinated campaign during the E — https://independentaustralia.net/
11. (October 16 2026) The previous month, Mr Hales met then-opposition leader Peter Dutton and a senior adviser at a petrol station, but denied they colluded on ways to disrupt the Liberals' opposing candidates. "It wasn't magical, mysterious, it was just known that he was going to turn up there because he was giving a speech," he told the MPs and senators. The Liberal Party's review of the 2025 election labelled the Plymouth Brethren a "support group", which church representatives have said is up t — https://aap.com.au/
12. (October 16 2026) Gareth Hales said that he had not seen such posters and was also surprised that an internal Liberal Party review described PBCC members as a support group. Committee chair Jerome Laxale said that thousands of church members were present at polling places during the campaign. Coalition representatives called the line of questioning a “witch
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(October 16 2026) Posters and disputes in the committee

 ... Bruce Hales was asked about the similarity of this slogan to his sermo — https://ua.news/
13. (October 14 2026) 22. Do you accept the Liberal Party's own election review describing the church as a “support group”? “I had no involvement in the 2025 Federal Election… The characterisation in the Liberal Party's election review following the 2025 Federal Election is a matter for the Liberal Party to explain. I can confirm that the Liberal Party never spoke with me in relation to the 2025 Federal Election review.” What the record shows. The Liberal Party's own post-election review found that  — https://brethrenintelligence.com/
14. (April 30 2026) The chair of the committee, Jerome Laxale, told the media: It's time that the Liberal party show up to the hearing and fess up about this group that they themselves describe as a 'support group'.
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(April 30 2026) The joint standing committee on electoral matters has issued a summons for Bruce Hales and Gareth Hales, the most senior leaders in the church, to appear at a hearing. Members of the church volunteered to support Liberal candidates, including at polling booths across  — https://instagram.com/
15. (September 24 2026) NT-based federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour has previously alleged members of the church — also known as the Exclusive Brethren — engaged in "aggressive and intimidating" behaviour during the election campaign at a Katherine polling booth. Mrs Lawler told the inquiry that while she could not say "100 per cent" that the men were members of the PBCC, "they weren't locals".
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(September 24 2026) 'Exclusive Brethren' members 'intimidating' during 2025 election campaign, former N — https://culteducation.com/
16. (September 24 2026) Arabic version: تحقيق في الإقليم الشمالي يستمع إلى مزاعم بشأن حملات انتخابية. According to ABC News, former Northern Territory Labor leader Eva Lawler told a federal parliamentary inquiry that people she believed may have been linked to the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church campaigned for the conservative side of politics during the 2025 federal election. Lawler alleged some men at Greater Darwin polling booths were intimidating and made derogatory comments about Labor and A — https://ozarab.media/
17. (October 16 2026) A member of a powerful and secretive Christian sect who encouraged fellow church members to campaign for the Liberal Party has described a journalist investigating the denomination as “poisonous” and “full of lies”. Gareth Hales is the son of the global head of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, which is alleged to have mobilised congregants in their thousands to man polling booths and harass MPs at the 2025 federal election. The church has repeatedly denied it directed or — https://michaelwest.com.au/