Graeme Middlemiss has seen the impact that fringe groups can have on local government.
The councillor in Latrobe City, based in the heart of Victoria’s former logging country in the valley it is named for, watched last year as meetings were temporarily forced to move online. There was “disruptive behaviour” as crowds grew.
They seemed to be incensed first by council support of the LGBTQ+ community, he remembers, and then by allegations the council was making decisions in secret.
Now, with ballots being delivered to voters across the state, the former power station worker and union official says these groups could affect Victoria’s local government elections, but “that’s democracy”.
“Our city is going through a very bad period. Our mines are to be closed, our timber industry is to be halved,” says Middlemiss, a former Latrobe mayor. “I think people are disappointed in their political representatives and these people play to that.”
The potential for “fringe” candidates to fly under the radar during the council elections is also being examined by academics and political experts, after the activities of anti-government conspiracy groups across the state.
It comes after candidates who espoused a range of beliefs, including conspiracy theories related to urban planning initiatives, won seats at local councils in New South Wales last month.
As the centre of Australia’s anti-lockdown and “freedom” movement, Victoria may have a receptive base for such claims, according to Luke Dean, who is tracking this trend as part of an Australian National University-Australian Catholic University project. Local councils also have lower barriers to entry.
“This is a really common way for political movements and political parties specifically to build their movement and build their political base through the local level,” Dean says.
‘Disenfranchised from other parts of society’
Candidates in Victoria are more likely than those in NSW to run as independents rather than on a group ticket, which makes it difficult to understand party alignment.
However, there are some candidates that have publicly disclosed their affiliations with groups such as My Place.
Last year, the Municipal Association of Victoria said about 30 councils were targeted by members of My Place, and about 10 to 15 have had disruption to their work, including Latrobe.
Founded in Victoria by Darren Bergwerf, My Place began during the pandemic and expanded to include concerns about chemtrails, fluoride and smart cities. Now a loose movement, the group was also associated with the People’s Council of Frankston, an alternative to the elected council, and Bergwerf has discussed plans for “new communities that operate outside the system”.
My Place-linked candidates have been elected to Queensland councils and, according to the group’s site, there are now about 60 affiliated Facebook groups in Victoria.
“In my private capacity, I am no longer interested in the political theatre & by no means are My Place Communities,” Bergwerf said in an email. “Academics suggesting that opposing views not in alignment with the narrative portrayed by Governments; Councils and Media; without any debate; &/or discussion, as being the only way to think is of great concern to Democracy in my opinion.”
“As far as conspiracy theories go; I would encourage everyone to do their own Research.”
Peter John Allan, a candidate for Whitehorse City council, responded to a survey that he was affiliated with groups including My Place, the Age has reported.
Allan tells Guardian Australia that he was only a member of his local My Place Facebook group, which he saw as “an interest group for people interested in local government”. He also says he didn’t “subscribe” to any push to create parallel councils or other conspiratorial claims.
There are also candidates who ran in the 2022 state election for the Freedom party, which emerged from the state’s so-called “freedom” movement, who are now running for council as independents. While it has opposed lockdowns and vaccine mandates, the party is not directly linked to My Place and its myriad of beliefs.
For months now, Morgan C Jonas, leader of the Freedom party of Victoria, has called on Telegram for people in areas such as Maribyrnong, Latrobe and Kingston City to help “eliminate the woke brigade that has infiltrated YOUR local council!” by running or helping candidates. On Facebook, he also claimed to be giving a speech at a My Place event this week. Jonas did not respond to a request for comment.
In Casey, Craig Baird also reportedly told the Age he was a Freedom party member and formerly affiliated with My Place. He tells Guardian Australia he does not share sovereign citizen beliefs.
“My Place at its best is building a community for those that are disenfranchised from other parts of society,” he says. “I’m not surprised that political opponents of the Freedom party are trying to classify them as fringe.”
The Victorian system
The majority of councils in Victoria will change to single-member wards this election. The structure means one councillor represents each area, instead of larger wards with multiple councillors.
In some areas, candidates have already been elected unopposed. This includes councils in the Gippsland area, which has been a particular focus for My Place organising.
Election analyst Ben Raue says single-member wards reduce the range of options for residents when they choose how to cast their vote, and may make it harder for “fringe candidates” to get elected because “voters are split up”.
However, Kos Samaras, a pollster and former Victorian Labor strategist, says that fringe candidates could flourish. He says this is partly due to political parties not formally endorsing candidates, unlike in NSW and Queensland.
“That tends to not spark the interests of voters,” he says. “It does improve the chances of fringe candidates.”
But the Municipal Association of Victoria’s chief executive, Kelly Grigsby, tells Guardian Australia that the “rapid spread of disinformation” was one of the biggest threats facing local government.
In late September, at least seven fake Facebook accounts started sharing content targeting some Latrobe City councillors and endorsing others as “the true voice” of the area or “champions of open council meetings”. Some accounts promoted commercial brands and other products as recently as August, and many of the election ads were authorised to an address in Pondicherry, India. None of the accounts responded to questions.
Latrobe councillor Tracie Lund says there has been a concerning rise in harassment campaigns targeting those in local government.
“It’s getting to a point where just doing your job as a councillor means opening yourself up to constant abuse online,” she says. “I believe this has discouraged potential candidates from stepping forward, and that’s why we’re seeing fewer names and less diversity on the ballot papers.”
SOS, a pseudonym, hosts a podcast, Tinfoil Tales, which tracks conspiracy theory communities in Australia. She has watched the growth of My Place closely, and says some groups have taken note of the fights to ban LGBTQ books and other efforts at school boards in the United States.
“They’re going to be given more and more air time and councils are going to have to spend more and more time trying to defend this stuff.”
