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Jim Saleam

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Jim Saleam
Saleam at a nationalist rally, 2013
Chairman of the Australia First Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 July 2010
Deputy ChairmanPeter Schuback
Preceded byOffice established;
Diane Teasdale
(as President of the Federal Australia First Party)
General Secretary
of the Australia First Party
In office
19 December 2002 – August 2007
PresidentDiane Teasdale
Preceded byNo immediate predecessor
Succeeded byNo immediate successor
Leader of the National Action Party
In office
25 April 1982 – 11 June 1997
DeputyRoss May
Preceded byParty established
Succeeded byMichael Brander
Deputy Leader of the
National Socialist Party of Australia
In office
c. 1972 – 1975
Served with Ross May
LeaderTed Cawthron
Preceded byFrank Molnar
Succeeded byParty dissolved
Personal details
Born
James Saleam

(1955-09-18) 18 September 1955 (age 69)
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Political partyAustralia First
(2002–07; 2010–present)
Other political
affiliations
See list
Spouse
Jane Mengler
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 1994)​
[1]
Children2
Residence(s)Tempe, New South Wales, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Sydney (PhD)
Occupation
Known forFar-right activism, founding National Action and Australia First Party[2]
Criminal chargeInsurance fraud and property offences (1984)[3]
Accessory before the fact (1991)[3]
Academic background
ThesisThe Other Radicalism Inquiry Into Contemporary Australian, Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organisation 1975-1995 (1999)
Part of a series on
Far-right politics
in Australia
Active organisations
Defunct organisations
People
Literature
Related topics

James Saleam (/ˈseɪləm/; born 18 September 1955) is an Australian political scientist, academic, political activist, and author noted for his involvement in Australian nationalism, anti-globalism, and the anti-immigration movement.[4][5][6][7] He is currently the chairman of the Australia First Party.[8][9] He came to prominence after founding National Action, a militant nationalist organization active in Sydney during the 1980s.[5][10]

The son of Lebanese immigrants to Australia,[11] Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, where he developed his interest in politics and nationalism.[12] By 1970, he joined the National Socialist Party of Australia and two years later he was arrested for the fire-bombing of a Maoist bookshop.[13] During the 70s, Saleam joined and founded minor nationalist organisations, and in 1982 he founded National Action.

Following the foundation of National Action, Saleam quickly gained national notoriety in the Australian nationalist scene.[5] The organization advocated for a nationalist agenda and frequently engaged in tactics like direct action.[5][14] National Action's activities often led to clashes with opposing groups and law enforcement. In 1989, while a member of said organization, Saleam was arrested for his involvement in orchestrating a shotgun attack on the home of an African National Congress representative in Australia.[15]

Despite these setbacks, he continued to promote his nationalist ideology. In the late 1990s, after serving time in prison, Saleam obtained both an MA and PhD from the University of Sydney by writing two theses on the far-right in America and Australia.[5] He would join the Australia First Party in 2002, where he worked as the secretary of the Sydney branch. By 2010, he became the chairman of the party.[16] Under his leadership, the party has maintained a staunchly nationalist stance and campaigning on issues of national sovereignty and cultural preservation. Since then, Saleam has been a strong advocate of barring further immigration to preserve a "self-contained, predominantly white nation resistant to further immigration or watering-down of its culture".[17][14]

Life

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Early years: 1955-1972

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Saleam was born and raised in Maryborough, Queensland, 18 September 1955, to a family of Lebanese immigrants.[18] His grandfather, George Saleam, was born in Lebanon and fled his country at age 16, boarding a ship bound for Australia.[12] After arriving to Marybourgh, George was classed as a white person.[12] Jim's parents divorced in the 1960s, when he was an eight-year-old.[12] After the break-up, his mother left with his sister to another town, leaving Saleam with his father. Saleam has described his father as an apolitical person, being not “academically minded or interested in politics or history”. However, he let his son read and study.[12]

Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, which at the time worked as a segregated boys and girls high school. At the age of 15, Saleam developed his early interest in politics, writing to “every conceivable political organisation in the country”, both from the left and the right. Malcolm Fraser’s election as PM led towards his exposure to nationalism and far-right politics, after he realised “both sides were in cahoots and that there was a need for a radical third way”.[12] According to Dr. Michael Monsour, a local doctor from Saleam's hometown, he developed certain fascination with the Nazis and was controversial for painting swastikas and portraying the roman salute. Despite being a troublemaker, Saleam was also described as "academically gifted". His final school exams were passed with ease, earning him a scholarship to the University of Queensland.[12]

In 1970, Saleam joined the National Socialist Party of Australia.[13] His role as a regular contributor to party funding earned him the nickname of ‘Comrade Saleam’. He became an assistant editor of Stormtrooper and the National Socialist Bulletin, where he often emphasised the ‘socialism’ in ‘National Socialism’.[19] As a NSPA militant, in 1972, Saleam firebombed a far-left, Maoist bookshop in Brisbane and, two years later, he was found guilty and arrested.[20] His sentence banned him from having any association with the NSPA.[12]

Political activism: 1974-1982

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After his liberation from prison, Saleam moved to Sydney and enrolled at the Sydney University.[20] In 1975, "much to his later chagrin", Saleam was photographed in full Nazi uniform at a public meeting.[21][22] On Anzac Day 1982, he co-founded National Action (NA), which eventually collapsed due to Saleam's convictions for property offences and fraud in 1984, possession of a prohibited article - a large nail-studded club in 1985, and for organising a shotgun attack in 1989 on African National Congress Australian representative Eddie Funde,[23] for which he served three and a half years in prison.[13][14][3]

After his release from prison, Saleam was awarded a PhD in politics from the University of Sydney by writing a thesis entitled The Other Radicalism: An Inquiry into Contemporary Australian Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organization 1975–1995 (submitted in December 1999).[24]

Saleam was affiliated with the Patriotic Youth League,[3][25] and has been seen associating with neo-Nazi skinheads.[22] In 2004, Saleam contested the NSW local government elections, and ran for Marrickville Council on an anti-refugee platform. In 2012, he ran for NSW local government election in the City of Blue Mountains.[26][27][28]

Australia First Party

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Saleam was the Secretary of the Sydney branch of the Australia First Party (AFP) between 2002 and 2007, when he became its chairman, and sought to re-establish the party. In July 2009, he announced that it had reached its target of 500 members and was registering the New South Wales branch party with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). The party was reregistered in mid-2010, in time to contest the 2010 federal election. [5]

AFP contested the 2013 federal election, Saleam standing in the seat of Cook on a platform to end refugee intakes, running against Scott Morrison. He received 617 votes, or 0.67% of the vote.[citation needed]

On 14 July 2015, the AEC deregistered the AFP due to its failure to demonstrate the required number of members. It was reregistered on 1 March 2016 as "Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated".[29]

Saleam stood at the 2016 federal election in the seat of Lindsay and received 1068 votes or 1.2% of the vote. He stood for AFP in the 2018 Longman by-election, receiving 709 votes or 0.8% of the vote.[30]

Saleam stood in the seat of Cootamundra, New South Wales, in the 2017 by-election as an independent, though still a member of Australia First, as the party is not registered for state elections.[31] He received 453 votes, 1% of the total. He again stood in the seat at the 2019 New South Wales state election as an independent, receiving 0.95% of the vote. Saleam's platform included the reintroduction of the White Australia policy and opposition to Chinese immigration.[32]

Personal life

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Saleam married Jane Mengler in 1987. They had two children and divorced in 1994.[1]

Electoral history

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Federal Parliament elections

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2013 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Cook.[edit]
2013 Australian federal election: Cook[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Scott Morrison 55,707 60.35 +2.47
Labor Peter Scaysbrook 22,850 24.76 −4.05
Greens Mithra Cox 6,058 6.56 −1.17
Palmer United Matthew Palise 3,765 4.08 +4.08
Christian Democrats Beth Smith 1,981 2.15 +0.23
Independent Graeme Strang 1,321 1.43 −0.32
Australia First Jim Saleam 617 0.67 +0.67
Total formal votes 92,299 94.08 −0.11
Informal votes 5,813 5.92 +0.11
Turnout 98,112 94.17 −0.25
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Scott Morrison 61,244 66.35 +3.69
Labor Peter Scaysbrook 31,055 33.65 −3.69
Liberal hold Swing +3.69
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2016 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Lindsay.[edit]
2016 Australian federal election: Lindsay[34]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Emma Husar 36,675 41.08 +2.05
Liberal Fiona Scott 35,081 39.30 −7.35
Greens Kingsley Liu 3,199 3.58 +0.52
Christian Democrats Warren Wormald 2,701 3.03 +0.24
Marcus Cornish 2,128 2.38 +2.38
Liberty Alliance Stephen Roddick 2,110 2.36 +2.36
Xenophon Stephen Lynch 1,850 2.07 +2.07
Family First Linda La Brooy 1,513 1.69 +1.69
Justice Scott Grimley 1,497 1.68 +1.68
Animal Justice Deborah Blundell 1,454 1.63 +1.63
Australia First Jim Saleam 1,068 1.20 +0.50
Total formal votes 89,276 88.23 −3.56
Informal votes 11,913 11.77 +3.56
Turnout 101,189 92.22 −2.07
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Emma Husar 45,633 51.11 +4.10
Liberal Fiona Scott 43,643 48.89 −4.10
Labor gain from Liberal Swing +4.10
This section is an excerpt from 2018 Longman by-election § Results.[edit]
Longman by-election: 28 July 2018[35][36]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Susan Lamb 35,203 39.84 +4.45
Liberal National Trevor Ruthenberg 26,170 29.61 −9.40
One Nation Matthew Stephen 14,061 15.91 +6.50
Greens Gavin Behrens 4,264 4.83 +0.44
Independent Jackie Perkins 2,379 2.69 +2.69
Liberal Democrats Lloyd Russell 1,762 1.99 +1.99
Country Blair Verrier 1,387 1.57 +1.57
Democratic Labour Gregory Bell 1,043 1.18 +1.18
Science James Noonan 970 1.10 +1.10
Australia First Jim Saleam 709 0.80 +0.80
People's Party John Reece 420 0.48 +0.48
Total formal votes 88,368 93.93 +2.46
Informal votes 5,707 6.07 −2.46
Turnout 94,075 84.26 −7.42
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Susan Lamb 48,116 54.45 +3.66
Liberal National Trevor Ruthenberg 40,252 45.55 −3.66
Labor hold Swing +3.66
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2019 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Lindsay.[edit]
2019 Australian federal election: Lindsay[37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Melissa McIntosh 45,247 46.45 +7.16
Labor Diane Beamer 34,690 35.61 −5.47
Greens Nick Best 4,781 4.91 +1.33
United Australia Christopher Buttel 2,831 2.91 +2.91
Independent Mark Tyndall 2,785 2.86 +2.86
Conservative National Brandon Lees 2,374 2.44 +2.44
Christian Democrats Mark Moody-Basedow 1,997 2.05 −0.98
Australia First Jim Saleam 1,372 1.41 +0.21
Sustainable Australia Geoff Brown 1,326 1.36 +1.36
Total formal votes 97,403 88.92 +0.69
Informal votes 12,135 11.08 −0.69
Turnout 109,538 92.26 +0.03
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Melissa McIntosh 53,614 55.04 +6.15
Labor Diane Beamer 43,789 44.96 −6.15
Liberal gain from Labor Swing +6.15

state Parliament elections

This section is an excerpt from 2017 Cootamundra state by-election § Results.[edit]
2017 Cootamundra by-election
Saturday 14 October [38][39]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Steph Cooke 21,093 46.2 −19.6
Labor Charlie Sheahan 10,930 24.0 −2.0
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers Matthew Stadtmiller 10,621 23.3 +23.3
Christian Democrats Philip Langfield 1,273 2.8 +0.5
Greens Jeffrey Passlow 1,238 2.7 −0.8
Ind. Australia First Jim Saleam 453 1.0 +1.0
Total formal votes 45,608 97.7 +0.4
Informal votes 1,057 2.3 −0.4
Turnout 46,665 87.2 −4.7
Two-party-preferred result
National Steph Cooke 24,114 60.5 −10.0
Labor Charlie Sheahan 15,769 39.5 +10.0
National hold Swing −10.0
Katrina Hodgkinson (National) resigned.
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2019 New South Wales state election (Legislative Assembly) § Cootamundra.[edit]
2019 New South Wales state election: Cootamundra [40][41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Steph Cooke 30,206 63.66 −2.24
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers Matthew Stadtmiller 7,447 15.70 +15.70
Labor Mark Douglass 7,302 15.39 −10.59
Greens Jeffrey Passlow 1,380 2.91 −0.57
Sustainable Australia Joseph Costello 660 1.39 +1.39
Australia First Jim Saleam 453 0.95 +0.95
Total formal votes 47,448 97.30 −0.01
Informal votes 1,319 2.70 +0.01
Turnout 48,767 91.20 −0.63
Two-party-preferred result
National Steph Cooke 32,504 77.07 +6.65
Labor Mark Douglass 9,673 22.93 −6.65
National hold Swing +6.65

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Good Weekend and Dr James Saleam". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. ^ Petrinic, Isabell (2 June 2016). "Lindsay: Scramble over minor and independent preferences". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Burke, Kelly (6 September 2012). "Mystery over Australia First's manifesto man". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ^ Hannan, Ewin; Baker, Richard (13 December 2005). "Nationalists boast of their role on the beach". The Age. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Writing About the Extreme Right in Australia". History Cooperative. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  6. ^ Remeikis, Amy (10 July 2018). "Pauline Hanson's One Nation directs preferences away from Labor in Longman". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  7. ^ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2012). "Neonazismus in den USA". Im Schatten der Schwarzen Sonne (in German). Wiesbaden: Marixverlag. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9783843801706.
  8. ^ Drinkwater, Dale (7 June 2016). ""I fight the system and the system fights me", says Lindsay candidate". Western Weekender. Penrith: Western Sydney Publishing Group. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  9. ^ Fellner, Carrie (22 March 2019). "Right wing extremist makes election bid in sleepy NSW 'cherry capital'". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  10. ^ Whitford, Troy (2013). "Combating Political Police: An Overview of National Action's Counterintelligence Program 1982–1990" (PDF). Salus Journal. 2 (1).
  11. ^ "Getting the fascist message into the Australian heartland". Crikey. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Bearup, Greg (26 September 2009). Whelan, Judith (ed.). "The Audacity of Hate". Good Weekend.
  13. ^ a b c Crisp, Lyndall (4 April 1989). "Harvest of Hate". Australian Consolidated Press. The Bulletin. pp. 42–49.
  14. ^ a b c Gibson, Jano; Frew, Wendy (12 January 2008). "No apology for white Australia policy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  15. ^ Jensen, Erik (9 July 2009). "Right-wing genie out of the bottle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  16. ^ McSwiney 2024.
  17. ^ West, Andrew (29 February 2004). "White separatist takes on Marrickville". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  18. ^ Crisp, Lyndall (4 April 1989). "Harvest of Hate". Australian Consolidated Press. The Bulletin. pp. 42–49. "Saleam was born [on September 18, 1955] in Maryborough, Queensland, of Lebanese migrant parents. He joined the Nazi Party (the National Socialist Party of Australia) in 1970. Two years later, aged 17, he was found guilty of fire-bombing a Maoist bookshop [East Wind] in Brisbane and put on a four-year good behavior bond"
  19. ^ Greason 1994.
  20. ^ a b Dixon, Norm (19 August 1998). "Neo-Nazi thugs offer their services to Hanson". Green Left. No. 329. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  21. ^ Moore, Andrew (1995). The Right Road?: A History of Right-Wing Politics in Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 019553512X.
  22. ^ a b Several articles discuss Saleam's criminal convictions, contain photographs of Saleam wearing Nazi attire and describe Saleam as a neo-Nazi or former neo-Nazi: Petrinic, Isabell (2 June 2016). "Lindsay: Scramble over minor and independent preferences". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  23. ^ Saleam 1999, p. 194.
  24. ^ Saleam 1999, p. 1.
  25. ^ Ewin Hannan; Richard Baker (13 December 2005). "Nationalists boast of their role on the beach". The Age. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Lindsay, NSW - AEC Tally Room". Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Local Council Elections – Australia First Party in Ward One". Katoomba Leura Online. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  28. ^ "Cook, NSW". Election 2013. Australian Electoral Commission. 1 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  29. ^ Registration and deregistration details:
  30. ^ Electoral results:
  31. ^ Grey, Lachlan (27 August 2017). "Australia First leader Jim Saleam to contest Cootamundra by-election in November". Cootamundra Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  32. ^ Right wing extremist makes election bid in sleepy NSW 'cherry capital'
  33. ^ 2013 results for Cook, AEC.
  34. ^ Lindsay, NSW, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.
  35. ^ "2018 Longman by-election results: AEC". Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  36. ^ "2018 Longman by-election results: ABC". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  37. ^ Lindsay, NSW, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.
  38. ^ "First Preference Votes Report Parliamentary Election: Cootamundra". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  39. ^ "State Electoral District of Cootamundra: Distribution of Preferences". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  40. ^ "Cootamundra: First Preference Votes". 2019 NSW election results. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  41. ^ "Cootamundra: Distribution of Preferences". 2019 NSW election results. NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

Bibliography

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