New England Online > History > Civil War > Origins
Origins of the Civil War
In late 2005, the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, announced that the United States would be establishing permanent military bases in New England. The outcry from may sections of the general public was enormous, and it sent in motion a tragic course of events that would lead to war. In New England, opposition was led by a sheep and cattle grazier named Michael Williams, who had become the president of the local branch of the New Australia Party or NAP in mid 2005. The NAP was a bipartisan group that wished for the bases to be closed and for Australia to assert its independence.
Rather unsurprisingly, the group drew in some radical elements from both the far right and far left. The Armidale branch was dominated by the left, something that happened nowhere else. Michael Williams as leader of the organisation held a political viewpoint that was somewhat right of centre. Despite this he openly supported the Armidale branch and encouraged all people to join. The initial hope of the movement was that the NAP would be able to achieve it's ends by peaceful means. As Australia was a stable and peaceful nation, armed struggle was not on the agenda of most people. As time went by though, it became apparent that the Federal Government would not tolerate any kind of dissent and cracked down on the NAP in what many now view as a heavy handed manner.
On the 7th January 2006, the Federal Police raided the offices of the New Australia Party in Armidale, and a number of people were arrested on dubious charges of aiding and abetting terrorism. Michael Williams, the leader of movement, narrowly avoided arrest. Australia had toughened it's anti-terrorist laws on several occasions as a result of September 11 Attacks in the United States
and the increased threat of attack after the debacle of the 2003 Iraq War.
With public anger growing, the Prime Minister remained defiant. He had the New Australia Party named as a terrorist organisation and made membership illegal. Sensing that the country was slipping further into a form of elected dictatorship, the New Australia Party openly defied the charge, and a small number now took up arms against the government. For the first time ever on an organised scale, Australia was now fighting itself.
