Clive Palmer has attended a Queensland meeting of a far-right anti-Islam group that in turn boasted of “mixing and talking with people who can make change in this country”.
The Patriots Defence League of Australia, which had its incorporation status stripped by the state government in June after it claimed to be an advocacy group for domestic violence victims, welcomed Palmer to a meeting of its south Queensland chapter on 6 September.
The mining multimillionaire-turned-federal MP posed for photos with PDL members, who then posted the pictures to the group’s Facebook page and thanked him for listening to their “concerns”.
“What do we do at PDLA BBQS? Well we mix and talk with people who can make change in this country,” the group said.
“Clive Palmer was in the presence of one of our QLD meetings today and has listened to our concerns ... Thanks Clive Palmer for your time.”
The PDLA, a splinter group from fellow far right group the Australian Defence League, is involved in a controversial anti-mosque campaign in Bendigo as well as the Reclaim Australia movement.
Federal MP Michelle Landry is among those who have condemned the views of the PDL after its anti-Islam campaigns in her central Queensland seat of Capricornia.
Patriots Defence League Inc briefly held incorporation status in Queensland after it had claimed its aim was “to raise awareness of women’s and children’s [sic] rights and domestic violence against women and children”.
But in June, the Office of Fair Trading revoked this because it was “carrying on an operation which is beyond the scope of the objects of the incorporated association”.
“Circumstances [also] exist which justify cancellation in the public interest,” the office said in a statement.
Incorporation had offered some financial and legal protection for office bearers if the organisation was hit with legal action, as well as the opportunity to claim tax advantages, enter contracts and apply for public funding.
The PDLA has been involved in heated protests against a proposed Bendigo mosque, which this week saw the city’s mayor leave a council meeting under police escort.
The group recently announced a plan to open a chapter in Logan, the multicultural area to Brisbane’s south, saying it was “the next Lakemba (Islamic ghetto) and we feel a voice is needed”.
Landry last year told Rockhampton newspaper the Morning Bulletin that the group needed to “calm down and meet [local Muslims] and see they’re just normal human beings”.
“We want people to be vigilant not vigilantes.”
Comment was sought from a spokeswoman for Palmer.
