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Okay, this is just seriously weird...
The federal attorney-general's department has been placed under the microscope over its dealings with members of the controversial religious group, the Exclusive Brethren.
Um, you're really running out of names for your cult/sect when you call yourself the Exclusive Brethren.
The Exclusive Brethren is said to boast about 40,000 members worldwide - many based in New Zealand and Australia. It has been accused of underhanded campaigning against the Greens at the 2004 federal election and subsequent state polls.
The group came under the spotlight last year when NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark accused it of running a smear campaign against her and fuelling rumours her husband was gay.
Brethren members shun contact with the modern world, and are barred from going to university or having TVs, radios, personal computers and mobile phones.
It was reported last year that on two occasions, the Brethren lobbied chief justice Alastair Nicholson to treat their Family Court cases differently because of the group's beliefs.
*shudders* I have a real problem with cults and sects, simply because my mother has counselled some people coming out of them and it is often not at all pretty. This one is just, wow! And they have been meeting with government official and dabbling in political smear campaigns!? o_O
The federal attorney-general's department has been placed under the microscope over its dealings with members of the controversial religious group, the Exclusive Brethren.
Um, you're really running out of names for your cult/sect when you call yourself the Exclusive Brethren.
The Exclusive Brethren is said to boast about 40,000 members worldwide - many based in New Zealand and Australia. It has been accused of underhanded campaigning against the Greens at the 2004 federal election and subsequent state polls.
The group came under the spotlight last year when NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark accused it of running a smear campaign against her and fuelling rumours her husband was gay.
Brethren members shun contact with the modern world, and are barred from going to university or having TVs, radios, personal computers and mobile phones.
It was reported last year that on two occasions, the Brethren lobbied chief justice Alastair Nicholson to treat their Family Court cases differently because of the group's beliefs.
*shudders* I have a real problem with cults and sects, simply because my mother has counselled some people coming out of them and it is often not at all pretty. This one is just, wow! And they have been meeting with government official and dabbling in political smear campaigns!? o_O
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