Correcting the Record: ABC Media Watch

The ABC’s Media Watch program aired a story called the “Covert Crusade” on the evening of Monday, 19 October 2026 in Australia.

The program included multiple inaccuracies, including some perpetuated by The Age newspaper about the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and its members.

The errors aired included that Mr Bruce Hales, the most senior elder in the Church, is referred to within the congregation as “the King”.  That is absurd.

The program referred to “the Plymouth Brethren operation” in regards to the 2025 election and accused the Church of meddling in that poll. Neither are correct. The Church did not participate in the election or coordinate the involvement of those who did. This information has been made clear on the PBCC website, to the media multiple times, and in PBCC Director Lloyd Grimshaw’s three hours of evidence on 21 August 2026 to the Australian Government’s Joint Standing Committee into Electoral Matters.

The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church is a mainstream Christian Church with a history dating back nearly 200 years, not a “fringe religious order” as stated on Media Watch. For more information on our Way of Life, please click here.

The Church provided a response to Media Watch prior to this story airing which was published on the Media Watch and can be viewed by clicking here.

ENDS