Key facts
- John Drew, a policy development officer for One Nation in Queensland, has made numerous racist and offensive posts on Facebook.
- Drew's posts include defending the Hitler Youth and using derogatory terms for Aboriginal people and migrants.
- Drew claims to be a party branch official in Brisbane and has a history with far-right political groups.
- One Nation has stated it is implementing new vetting processes to screen party officials.
John Drew, a policy development officer for One Nation in Queensland, has been revealed to have made numerous deeply offensive and racist posts on his Facebook account. These posts include defending the Hitler Youth, calling Aboriginal people 'stone age people' and 'ghastly boongs,' and expressing support for the White Australia policy.
Drew claims he has been a party branch official in Brisbane since late last year, despite One Nation stating it has implemented a new vetting tool called 'Operation Obsidian' to screen individuals taking up party roles. He previously served as Queensland secretary for the far-right Australia First party and national coordinator for the Patriotic Youth League.
His Facebook activity, spanning from 2022 to the present, features comments such as 'It has been estimated that at least fifty percent of aborigines are mentally ill,' and referring to Indigenous Australians as 'rapacious bludgers and grifters.' He also posted about a film script depicting Aboriginal people being 'shot and killed.'
Drew has also directed racist comments at ethnic minorities, calling Labor MP Sally Sitou a 'sad ethnic lady' and Senator Mehreen Faruqi a 'foreign nutter,' echoing Senator Hanson's controversial comment that Faruqi should 'piss off back to Pakistan.' Drew has also expressed concerns about Australia being 'swamped' by Chinese people and 'non assimilating migrants,' and referred to Muslims as 'Islamic scum.'
In posts related to cricket, Drew suggested Australia's victory over India was evidence of 'white supremacy,' stating that 'Indian people must accept white supremacy.' He has also shown admiration for European far-right parties, including Germany's Alternative for Germany.
Drew previously ran for One Nation in 2001 but claimed he was dropped for being 'too radical.' He stated his belief in Pauline Hanson's policies since the 1990s and volunteered for the election campaign of her media adviser, Richard Henderson.
One Nation's general manager, Kelvin Morton, stated that Operation Obsidian would apply to vetting candidates, employees, and anyone taking up a role within the party. Senator Pauline Hanson has previously spoken about being infiltrated by extremists and shutting down party branches.