Campion College academics Stephen McInerney and Stephen Chavura defend white nationalism, college says it’s freedom of speech

He remains in charge of the club’s online group chats.

This imprint may reveal that these chats include several known neo-Nazis, some of whom have Nazi icons in their screenshots, as well as former members of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys, and often include racist and antisemitic views.

Both Chavura and McInerney told this imprint that they publicly rejected Nazism but wanted to defend the interests of Anglo-Europeans as an ethnic group. This imprint does not suggest otherwise.

Chavura called multiculturalism “cancer” and “poison.”

McInerney, former vice-president of the Ramsay Center for Western Civilisation, said the White Australia policy did not go far enough and that the time would come for political parties dedicated to “our people” – white Australians.

At the Australian rally in August, Organized by neo-Nazi leadersMcInerney spoke of “a people bound together by red blood” and called for white Australians to become a “supermajority” in the country.

In response, Daniel Ang, who works for the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney, wrote an opinion piece criticizing McInerney’s “portrayal of Australia as a fundamentally Anglo-European project” that “comes dangerously close to an ethnic nationalism that the Church has openly condemned.”

Campion said Wednesday that he rejected the “premises and conclusions” of this imprint’s previous report on the academics, even condemning some of the duo’s public statements.

University president Paul Morrissey said his comments were made personally and there was no evidence that Chavura or McInerney treated students unfairly.

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Catering to a small group of undergraduate students focused on the classics of Western thought, the college affirmed “the dignity of every human being, regardless of race or religion,” but also said it believed in academic freedom, free speech, and vigorous debate.

“A commitment to free speech is meaningless unless it extends to people who say unpopular and even some offensive things,” Morrissey said.

Sydney Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher, one of Campion’s supporters, did not respond to questions.

Bishop Vincent Long of Parramatta, a former refugee and immigrant of Asian descent, “does not share these views”, a spokesman said. “Committed to leading the local church united in its effort to honor the dignity and worth of every person.”

Both McInerney and Chavura are supporting March Australian rallies this weekend, which are now being advertised online with the slogan “Resist or Cease to Exist.”

Chavura has previously told this imprint that he envisions the Sons of Australia partly as an educational and sports group, but also as a force to deter “leftist thugs” at “pro-Australia rallies”.

He said on Thursday he no longer led the Sons of Australia but insisted the group “has no sympathy whatsoever for Nazism or racism and does not allow Nazis to be members”.

Chat logs leaked to this imprint, which includes online chats of closed members of the group, reveal that some known neo-Nazi accounts have been kicked or left the group, but as of Thursday, many remain. Chavura was still in charge of the chat group as an administrator.

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Recently, Chavura has stepped back and pointed out the more extreme elements in the conversation. “People here need to understand that the average patriot who attends a pro-Australia rally is not Jew-obsessed like our race,” he said. “If some of you wrote the constitution for the Sons of Australia, we would literally have 20 people sign up and the rest of the patriots would be shut down.”

Chavura, who was interrogated by neo-Nazis in the group, including convicted criminal Jimeone Roberts, later defended himself for not personally attending the Nazi-led March on Australia in August, stating that he was one of its “biggest supporters online”.

He told this imprint that members in the group’s closed chat “may not necessarily be members” of the Sons of Australia, that “quite a few people have been removed from the group” and that some have “criticized the Sons of Australia for not being exactly Nazis or racists.”

Some members of the National Socialist Network, Australia’s most prominent neo-Nazi group, have left the Sons of Australia chat in recent weeks and criticized Chavura’s perceived support for Israel.

Joel Davis, a key figure in the NSN, twice praised McInerney’s comment about the Jewish people during a two-hour video discussion between Davis and another NSN leader.

“I don’t know Joel Davis, but I hope and pray that he will abandon National Socialism, reject neo-paganism, and embrace the sweet yoke of Jesus Christ,” McInerney said in the post.

McInerney said his comments on immigration were in line with a number of former prime ministers from the 1960s who maintained and supported the Immigration Act, better known as the White Australia Policy.

“Obviously they weren’t National Socialists (Nazis), and neither am I,” he said.

As for his post linking Jewish leaders and multiculturalism, which he strongly opposed, he said, “It is not antisemitic to point out such facts, even in a critical language.”

McInerney said that, to his knowledge, he was never investigated for misconduct by Campion and received no disciplinary action or warnings.

“I enjoy very good professional relationships with students and staff from all backgrounds,” he said.

A spokesman for the Ramsay Centre, which has launched classical programs and fellowships at several Australian universities, confirmed McInerney left the organization at the beginning of last year.

“Dr McInerney’s views are in no way shared by the Ramsay Center board or executive,” a spokesman said.

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