Farage’s warning to Aus conservatives

The former leader of the UK Independence Party and Brexit Party was greeted to a cheers and cahoots at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney on Saturday.

Mr Farage was billed as one of the major speakers, alongside former prime minister Tony Abbott.

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In a whirlwind speech he warned Australians about replacing the “magic” of a constitutional monarchy with a “dreary republic”.

“I’ve seen the values that the Queen represented being discussed again. Christianity is being discussed again,” Mr Farage said.

“What Australians are saying to me this week is: We want Australia back.’”

Boos erupted from the crowd after Mr Farage made a brief mention to former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

He also bragged “getting rid” of former UK prime minister Theresa May was one of his “proudest achievements”.

A video of Mr Farage interacting with a protester was briefly played, with the activist chanting “bigots are not welcome here”.

Mr Farage is heard saying he needs help before leaving the conversation.

At the conclusion of his speech, Mr Farage said a “huge, convulsive” political change was coming across the world.

“Determine that you will become a foot soldier in this movement. Use your power of communication,” he told the crowd.

“When it comes to the next election vote for people who will take a moral stand. Get people who are better and stronger to represent you.”

Earlier, Mr Abbott told the crowd Australians should not be “morally bullied” into supporting a republic movement, an anti-corruption watchdog or an Indigenous Voice to parliament.

In his keynote address, the former Liberal party leader claimed not supporting either did not make him “less Australian” or “anti-Aboriginal”.

“Conservatives should never be afraid to say no, even if there might sometimes be a pragmatic case for making change for the worse, less bad,” the former liberal party leader said.

“We should never allow ourselves to be morally bullied into changing what works.”

After going through his achievements as prime minister, he later told the crowd that conservatives were “better placed” to “bring some inspiration and some hope back to our public life”.

Mr Abbott, who received a standing ovation from the crowd, in a later panel with former LNP senator Amanda Stoker conceded he was “obviously completely out of step with the modern world”.

“I don’t like the climate cult. I don’t like the virus hysteria. I can’t understand the gender fluidity push. I don’t like magic pudding economics and I particularly dislike the cultural self loathing,” he said.

“Yet these things are now almost conventional wisdom.”

Mr Abbott, who was unseated as the member for Warringah in 2019 by independent Zali Steggall, said it was a “pity” that not more people in the crowd lived in the seat.

Katherine Deves, who failed in her bid to win back the seat in May, also made a surprise appearance at the conference.

The former candidate, who was hand-picked by Scott Morrison to run, caused controversy during the campaign over her opposition to transgender women participating in female sports.

She told the forum she was “silenced” and likened her experience to being “burned at the stake”.

Ms Deves later described gender-affirming medical procedures as “experimental” and accused journalists of refusing to report on “the biggest medical scandal of our time”.

In a prerecorded message, former prime minister John Howard said conservative values “were under attack”.

“We must constantly summon the energy and the intellect to argue the cause to advocate for conservative values.”

Brisbane

Blake Antrobus covers Queensland courts and crime for NCA NewsWire. He began his career in journalism in 2015, migrating from Sydney’s northern beaches to southwest Queensland. He has covered politics, crime, e… Read more

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