Correcting the Record: Federal Election Inquiry – Full Opening Statement

In the lead up to the 2025 Federal Election in Australia, our Church was subjected to extraordinary attacks by some politicians and sections of the media.

The Church was repeatedly labelled a “cult” and has been accused of engaging in “electoral interference”. Our members have been called “brainwashed”.

The fact is, our Church did not participate in the election. We did not coordinate the involvement of those who did. Our Church does not campaign for, nor support, any political parties.

Yes, church members volunteered. As Australian citizens, they are free to do so – and their religion shouldn’t be used against them.

Church spokesperson and Director, Lloyd Grimshaw, has appeared before a Parliamentary Inquiry in the Australian Parliament to put these facts on the record.

He also asked politicians to take action to prevent religious discrimination.

Watch Lloyd Grimshaw’s opening statement to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters’ inquiry into the 2025 Federal Election in full below.

Full transcript:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee.

My name is Lloyd Grimshaw and I’m a Director at the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

Leading up to the 2025 election, our church – which is a mainstream Christian Church with 150 years of history in Australia – was subject to extraordinary attacks by the media and even by members of Parliament.

Much was made of the fact that some individuals within the church volunteered during the election.

And that was used to justify it becoming Open Season on the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

Our church members were publicly judged and insulted for their clothing, their hairstyles, their beliefs, even the cars they drove.

They were labelled as “brain washed” by some, and having “ulterior motives” by others.

This wasn’t a one off. Our submission outlines dozens of examples of discrimination – none of which would have been tolerated if they were directed at people of any other faith in this country.

If this is allowed to happen to us without repercussions or recourse, members of the Committee can be assured that such discrimination may start with our church – but certainly will not end with ours.

On that basis, we therefore welcome this Committee looking to understand why such behaviour occurred and what can be done to ensure it never happens again.

I hope today is an opportunity to clarify some misunderstandings and untruths about the alleged involvement of our church at the last election.

As a starting point, and as we stated in our submission, our church did not participate in the election or coordinate the political involvement of those who did.

That is not to say that some church members did not participate in the 2025 election. Clearly they did.

But they did this under their own steam… and under their own name. Not my church’s.

But some people did get involved and they brought friends. To understand how this happened, you need to understand that within our church there is a very strong volunteering culture:

• If one person volunteers to help build a new church meeting room, dozens will join in.
• If one person makes a meal for a family welcoming a new baby, it becomes a meal train.
• One donated bale of hay to a farmer in drought becomes a whole convoy of trucks.

When members of our church decide to get involved with a cause, they don’t do things by halves.

I was not one of those who got involved. But I have spoken to many who did in preparation for my appearance here today.

They’ve told me that they supported parties including the Liberal Party, Nationals Party, Labor Party, One Nation and Advance. And the reasons they gave me included:

• They had strong opinions about Government policies.
• They were worried about the economy and geopolitical issues.
• They’d been asked to help by a friend or family member. That one was most common.
• They were supportive of the local candidate and wanted to help them.
• They wanted to help on the school barbeque on polling day.

I don’t get involved in politics, but these sound like pretty normal reasons to volunteer to me.

As a second point, I would also like to make a few observations on the 80 or so submissions made to this inquiry which specifically mention the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

• 32 were anonymous.
• 16 came from, or strongly appear to come from, Labor, union or independent affiliates.
• 10 were positive or defended the right of church members to participate in the election.
• 4 were from well-known anti-church activists.

Further, the advice I received on all submissions that mentioned my church was that only five would meet a test of evidence – that is, they included both a positive identification of a church member along with an allegation of anti-social behaviour.

The rest made unsubstantiated claims – including assumptions that people were church members based on how they dress or who they mixed with.

Not every person in a blue shirt, with a side part or bow in their hair is a member of the Brethren church!

I will make a few final points and clarifications to conclude.

Firstly, our church did not donate to, nor organise donations to, any political candidate or party.

Neither my church nor any of its Directors including me, made any reportable donations to anyone.

Whether parishioners did donate their money is entirely a matter for them.

Secondly, members of our church can vote.

It was never a rule, but many people interpreted a passage in Romans Chapter 13 in the Bible as a reason not to vote.

Over time we have seen this view evolve, and more of our members do choose to vote. That is something they can do at their own discretion.

It is also up to each individual member whether they exercise their right to abstain from voting for religious reasons. It was never a test of fellowship in our church.

Finally I want to highlight that we agree reform is needed to help prevent aggressive conduct, deliberate obstruction, and intimidating behaviour at electoral booths.

We call on the AEC to issue guidance making it explicitly clear that it is unacceptable for any volunteers to be singled out, insulted, or discriminated against based on their religion.

We also call on Members of Parliament to set the example that calling out a person’s religion in a political or electoral context, is not in line with the expectations of modern Australia.

We sincerely hope that the recommendations of this Committee will help ensure that such harmful behaviour is never seen again in this country.

Again I point out, that if religious discrimination such as what we witnessed in the 2025 election is allowed to start with my church, it certainly won’t end with my church.

Thank you