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AAP
AAP
Politics
Will Nicholas

Brethren member says he encouraged Liberal campaigning

Gareth Hales has told an inquiry he decided to "lend a hand" after driving past a polling booth. (Hilary Wardhaugh/AAP PHOTOS)

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.

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