Loading AI tools
Australian nationalist activist (born 1955) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Jim Saleam | |
---|---|
Chairman of the Australia First Party | |
Assumed office 18 July 2010 | |
Deputy Chairman | Peter Schuback |
Preceded by | Office 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 | |
President | Diane Teasdale |
Preceded by | No immediate predecessor |
Succeeded by | No immediate successor |
Leader of the National Action Party | |
In office 25 April 1982 – 11 June 1997 | |
Deputy | Ross May |
Preceded by | Party established |
Succeeded by | Michael Brander |
Deputy Leader of the National Socialist Party of Australia | |
In office c. 1972 – 1975 Served with Ross May | |
Leader | Ted Cawthron |
Preceded by | Frank Molnar |
Succeeded by | Party dissolved |
Personal details | |
Born | James Saleam 18 September 1955 Maryborough, Queensland, Australia |
Political party | Australia First (2002–07; 2010–present) |
Other political affiliations | See list
|
Spouse |
Jane Mengler
(m. 1987; div. 1994) |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Tempe, New South Wales, Australia |
Alma mater | University of Sydney (PhD) |
Occupation |
|
Known for | Far-right activism, founding National Action and Australia First Party[2] |
Criminal charge | Insurance fraud and property offences (1984)[3] Accessory before the fact (1991)[3] |
Academic background | |
Thesis | The Other Radicalism Inquiry Into Contemporary Australian, Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organisation 1975-1995 (1999) |
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 got 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]
Saleam was born and raised in Maryborough, Queensland, 18 September 1955, to a family of Lebanese immigrants.[18] During his youth, Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, which at the time worked as a segregated boys and girls high school. According to Dr. Michael Monsour, a local doctor from Saleam's hometown, he developed certain fascination with the Nazis and often got into trouble for painting swastikas and making the roman salute.[12] 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, at the age of 15, he joined the National Socialist Party of Australia. He was arrested and convicted for the fire-bombing of a Maoist bookshop in Brisbane in 1972.[13]
In 1975, "much to his later chagrin", Saleam was photographed in full Nazi uniform at a public meeting.[19][20] 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,[21] 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).[22]
Saleam was affiliated with the Patriotic Youth League,[3][23] and has been seen associating with neo-Nazi skinheads.[20] 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.[24][25][26]
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.
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".[27]
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.[28]
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.[29] 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.[30]
Saleam married Jane Mengler in 1987. They had two children and divorced in 1994.[1]
Federal Parliament elections
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 |
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 |
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 |
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
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 |
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 |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.