About CARF: Our History, And What We Stand For
In 2015, a climate of extreme Islamophobia, increased law and order rhetoric, and rampant nationalism had encouraged the growth of small far-right groups. This led to a series of national mobilisations called by the far-right umbrella group Reclaim Australia. The initial Reclaim Australia demonstrations mobilised thousands across the country and hinted at worrying new political developments.
Later that year came a series of deeply racist Islamophobic protests in Bendigo, organised by the United Patriots Front (UPF). The re-election of Pauline Hanson also further emboldened the far-right. New fascist groupings, encouraged by these open displays of racism and bigotry, began to openly organise. When fascists in Australia attempted to mobilise under the mask of Islamophobia, activists who would go on to found the Campaign Against Racism & Fascism (CARF) were at the front-lines of the counter-protests against groups like Reclaim Australia, organising a vocal and successful opposition.
CARF upholds complete freedom of conscience worldwide, and therefore sees defending the right of people to be Muslims, or practice any religion, without discrimination or harassment, as a key part of our campaign. We oppose racism, white supremacy, reactionary nationalism and the targeting of any people—whether for their religion, colour, sexual or gender identity or participation in organised labour.
We defend the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and condemn the Australian state’s appalling treatment of vulnerable displaced people. Australia is not the far-right’s to “reclaim”. We are on the stolen lands of Australia’s First Nations and recognises the sovereign rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
By building a strong anti-fascist movement to counter the organised far-right, we can limit their ability to gain a legitimate political foothold. We want to take the far-right on before they have the opportunity to grow larger. We aim to demoralise and humiliate them while they are still small and fragmented fringe groups.
Artwork courtesy of Maddie Ha
We have four clear aims:
To challenge the growth of the far-right early;
To see them called what they are—fascists;
To directly confront them in the street and prevent them from controlling public space; and
To rebuild a confident, independent anti-fascist movement in Australia.
Our goal is to break away broader layers of ‘ordinary Mum & Dad racists’ from the main cadre of avowed white supremacists. Our strategy of directly confronting the fascists, taking up public space, disrupting their events and blocking their marches has definitely broken off broader layers of would-be far-right activists from the fascist core. Since 2015 the Australian far-right have rarely mobilised more than 200 supporters to their rallies.
However, high profile international far-right figures have regularly attracted much larger crowds on their tours. In response, CARF organises large counter demonstrations to continue to demobilise support for these ideas and ideology.
We challenge the mainstream media narrative that the far-right are merely ‘concerned citizens.’ We don’t pull our punches: we call the fascists what they are. Our rallies, placards and press releases are very clearly branded as ‘anti-fascist’. Over time this counter-narrative has gained traction.
Even though the far-right is clearly gaining publicity, our protests have had a demoralising effect. The fascists are now often referred to as such in the press. For example, it is commonly accepted that Blair Cottrell is a Nazi. Press interviews with ‘activists’ of Reclaim Australia and the UPF have indicated that there are those who would more publicly associate with these far-right groups, yet they don’t want to be branded a Nazi. This is positive and we want to keep it up.
CARF also stands against the misogyny and homophobia championed by the far-right, a concerning trend that has become increasingly pronounced in groupings like the Proud Boys. Indeed, online communities that espouse sexism, and popular ‘mainstream’ figures like Jordan Peterson, are common entry points into far-right politics. We encourage female leadership and visibility, especially with marshalling duties—fascists find confrontation with politically confident women particularly unsettling!
We in CARF want to rebuild a culture of radicalism and self confidence. We don’t believe that the authorities can do it better than us. We want to build up grassroots strength and solidarity between the oppressed in Australia. Anti-fascism can both challenge fascism and build the confidence of all whom the far-right want to attack, marginalise and intimidate.