Frederick John Nile (born 15 September 1934) is an Australian former politician and
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
Christian minister. Nile was a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
from 1981-2023, except for a period in 2004. Nile was re-elected at the
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
,
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
,
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, and
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
state elections and served as the Assistant President of the Legislative Council between 2007 and 2019. Nile lost his seat at the
2023 New South Wales state election
The 2023 New South Wales state election was held on 25 March 2023 to elect the 58th Parliament of New South Wales, including all 93 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the New South ...
, after four decades of being in parliament.
Nile was National President of the
Christian Democratic Party, a conservative party which focused primarily on what it regarded as important moral and social issues. Nile is noted for his controversial comments.
He is mainly known for his vocal opposition to drug use, abortion, pornography and homosexuality. He is patron of the Australian Christian Nation Association and Vice President of the Australian Christian Endeavour Union, an evangelical youth movement. Until his electoral defeat in 2023, Nile was the longest-serving member of the New South Wales Parliament.
Early life
Nile was born in Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-eastern locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...
and was educated at Mascot Public and Cleveland Street High School (1940–1949). In 1952, during the Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, at age 17, Nile volunteered to join the National Service in 1952 and then transferred to the CMF/reserves which allowed him to avoid deployment to Korea and qualified for the rank of major, before retiring in 1972. In 1958, Nile married Elaine Crealy, who was a member of the Legislative Council for 14 years. They had three sons and a daughter. Elaine died in October 2011 at age 75. Nile attended the NSW Congregational Theological College, the NSW United Faculty of Theology and the University of New England. He was awarded a Licentiate of Theology by the Melbourne College of Divinity
The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Di ...
.
Early career
Nile was ordained as a Congregational
Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...
minister in 1964. From 1964 to 1967, he was National Director of the Australian Christian Endeavour Movement, a Protestant youth leadership training organisation. In 1967–68, he was assistant director of the Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...
Crusade in Sydney before being employed as director of the Congregational Board of Evangelism in New South Wales. In 1970–71, he was involved in social work as director of the Methodist Mission to the People of New South Wales and, from 1971 to 1973, was Director of Outreach and Evangelism, Sydney City Wesley Central Methodist Mission.[Court, J.H., (1975), ''Law, Light and Liberty'', Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, Chapter 13.]
In 1974, Nile was elected national co-ordinator and the New South Wales director of the Australian Federation of Festival of Light – Community Standards Organisation (FOL–CSO), an organisation which campaigned "for purity, love and family life".['Fred Nile anti-gay march on Oxford Street'](_blank)
10 February 1989. ''National Nine News
Nine News (stylized as 9News) is a national News agency, news service on the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is an hour-long ''9News'' bulletin at 6:00 pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, S ...
''.[Sean Nicholls. (3 June 2011)]
'All talk, no action to halt wages bill'
''Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
''.
Political career
Nile was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council on 19 September 1981 with 9.1% of the vote as the founder of the Call to Australia (Fred Nile) Group, established in 1977. Following the election to the Legislative Council of Jim Cameron (in 1984) and Nile's wife, Elaine (1988), the Call to Australia Group was officially recognised as a political party. Fred Nile was re-elected to the Council at the 1991 and 1999 state elections. Nile wrote his autobiography in 2001. In 2003, Nile resigned from the Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
claiming that the church had "officially decided to part with a literal interpretation of the Judeo-Christian Bible".
Federal candidacy (2004)
Nile resigned from the NSW Parliament on 30 August 2004 in order to contest the 2004 Federal election, seeking a position in the Australian Senate on a platform of opposition of the recognition of gay marriages. Nile was the last candidate excluded after the distribution of votes on the 77th count, and was not elected to the Senate. A few months later, he was re-appointed to the Legislative Council to fill the vacancy created by his own resignation.
Return to state politics
At the 2007 New South Wales state election, Nile was re-elected for a further eight-year term and was appointed to the newly created position of Assistant President of the NSW Legislative Council.
In 2007, he retired as the New South Wales director of the Australian Federation of Festival of Light. Nile served as the president of the Fellowship of Congregational Churches, a group of Australian Congregationalists who declined to join the Uniting Church in 1977, for the years 2007 to 2012, and again for the 2013/14 year.
In November 2009, he stated his decision to retire in 2015, but later announced his decision to accept the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) nomination for the NSW Legislative Council at the New South Wales State Election on 28 March 2015. In 2014, Nile announced that he would be contesting the next state election in 2015 with his deputy, Ross Clifford. In 2015, Nile supported the Liberal government's privatisation
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of the state's electricity poles and wires.
In January 2017, Nile was denied entry to the United States where he had been invited to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump Inauguration of Donald Trump may refer to:
* First inauguration of Donald Trump
The United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Trump's first term ...
. He was later granted a visa and an apology, though no reason was given for the initial refusal.
Demise of the Christian Democratic Party and aftermath: 2021–present
In April 2021, Nile announced he would retire in November 2021, nominating Lyle Shelton to replace him. However, in September of that year he rescinded Shelton's endorsement and announced he would complete his term. In 2022, the Christian Democratic Party was dissolved.
Following the CDP's dissolution, Nile said he planned to form a new party called Christ in Government (Fred Nile Alliance), but in May 2022 he instead joined the Seniors United Party of Australia. The party was not registered with the New South Wales Electoral Commission
The New South Wales Electoral Commission, known as the NSWEC or the NSW Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the NS ...
and was deregistered with the Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union
A ...
less than two months later.
Nile renewed his retirement in October 2022, intending to give his final speech in parliament on 17 November. In February 2023, he announced his intention to nominate for re-election. He appeared on the ballot second to his wife Silvana with no party affiliation as Group G. Having only two candidates, this group had no above-the-line voting square which experts considered to leave no prospect for election.
In the event, Fred and Silvana Nile (Group G) both received 2507 votes in all, which constituted 0.05% of the total votes/ballot papers cast. which was not enough to return Nile to the Legislative Council with his wife.
Controversies
Comments on "Pederasty" ABC program
In July 1975, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
's Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
aired a program entitled "Pederasty
Pederasty or paederasty () is a sexual relationship between an adult man and an adolescent boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Pre-Meiji Japan.
In most countries today, ...
" which featured Richard Neville candidly interviewing "three men in their thirties who admitted to sex relations with boys, and a teenage boy who said he had been involved in such relationships since he was 12". Nile objected to the program's content and turned a tape of the show over to police.
Comments on the Lindt Cafe siege
In January 2015, Nile argued that male hostages who fled the Lindt Cafe siege should not receive bravery awards, as giving them one would "cheapen" it. He stated during an interview on Channel Seven's ''Sunrise'' program that no hostages at Martin Place should receive bravery awards and their actions had potentially risked the lives of their fellow hostages. "Usually men try to protect the women and it seems that the men were saving their own skin and leaving the women there." He later added that he mis-spoke when he said that "the only man inside the café had been the man holding the gun."
In a media release dated 14 January 2015, Nile stated, "I fully support Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s recommendation to the Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove
General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian retired senior Australian Army, Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019.
A graduate of the Royal ...
, that Mrs Dawson and Mr Johnson should be honoured with posthumous bravery awards." He also recommended that proper consideration should be given to the actions of others involved, including other hostages and police.
Comments on homosexuality
Nile has been described by Buzzfeed as "one of Australia's longest-running anti-gay campaigners". He is opposed to homosexuality which he has described as a "mental disorder" and calls homosexuality a "lifestyle choice" that is "immoral, unnatural and abnormal". Nile has also stated that he was "totally opposed to the bashing of homosexuals ... totally opposed to any violence or attacks directed against homosexual men or lesbians ... opposed to strong (malicious) verbal attacks."
Nile has opposed the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which he described as a "public parade of immorality and blasphemy". Nile objected to the "indecency and obscenity in various parts of the Mardi Gras" and stated that it reinforced "the worst stereotypes". Each year, he leads a prayer session against the event.
In 2005, Nile called for the repealing of New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
anti-vilification law, claiming that the law is discriminatory and should either cover all citizens or be abolished. Nile claimed that the Homosexual Vilification Act was being abused to gag free speech and prevent open non-malicious public discussion.
Following a 2011 announcement by Penny Wong, a Labor Party federal government minister, that her same-sex partner was pregnant, Nile publicly denounced Wong's actions, saying "I'm totally against a baby being brought up by two mothers" and "She needn't have made it public. It just promotes their lesbian lifestyle and trying to make it natural where it's unnatural." During a televised debate on the show '' Q&A'', Nile told Gene Robinson
Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected Coadjutor bishop, bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he se ...
, the first priest in an openly gay relationship to be consecrated a bishop in a major Christian denomination, that he "should be ashamed to be a bishop and going against the church".
Nile used his newspaper, ''Family World News'', to urge a no vote on the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey by the Australian Government designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the Australia Post, postal service between 12 Septe ...
.
Comments on the Australian Greens
Nile is a frequent critic of the Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
, claiming that they have exploited genuine concern for the environment to garner political influence to "push their agenda of social engineering". Nile has criticised the Greens for what he calls "duplicite political expediency", citing their push to legalise and fund "illicit drug habits for addicts" such as heroin and cannabis in what he claims is contravention of publicised Greens policy. Nile has also labelled the Greens as being "anti-family", "anti-Christian", and "pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
", citing what he believes to be pro-pornography and pro-sex industry policies and their opposition to the current practice of opening parliament with daily prayers.
Nile once described the Greens as the "watermelon party – green on the outside but red on the inside, with a bit of a pink tinge."
Comments on Muslims and neo-pagans
Following the Moscow theatre hostage crisis in 2002, Nile asked whether the then state minister of police would consider banning full body coverings, like those worn by the Chechen terrorists, from parliament and places of public gathering to prevent the carriage of weapons or explosive devices. Nile has attempted to pass bills in the NSW Legislative Council that would prohibit the wearing of full-face coverings, such as the hijab
Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...
or niqāb
A niqāb, niqab, or niqaab (; ), also known as a ruband () or rubandah (), is a long garment worn by some Muslim women in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes. It is an interpretation in Islam of the concept of ...
, six times – 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2019. Five of the bills failed to be passed, with only the latest bill still not lapsed.
On 10 March 2007, Nile raised concern that Australian embassy officials posted in Islamic nations were favouring the immigration of Muslim over Christian refugees. Nile called for a moratorium on Muslim immigration to Australia: "Australians deserve a breathing space so the situation can be carefully assessed", he told an audience in North Ryde
North Ryde is a suburb located in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Ryde is located 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde.
One of ...
.
In 2010, Nile asked for the removal of the then Australian Muslim leader Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly after the sheik placed the blame for sexual assault on the female victims.
Nile is opposed to Australian neopagans, having said that the Christian Democrats would "do what it can to stop pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
weddings and witchcraft or Wicca
Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
activities."
Comparison of ethics classes to Nazism
Ethics classes were introduced by the Keneally Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
government as an alternative for children who did not want to attend traditional scripture classes. Prior to the 2011 state election, Barry O'Farrell
Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...
made a pre-election pledge of not scrapping the ethics classes. Following the election, Nile, who was vehemently opposed to the ethics classes, introduced a private members bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
proposing the abolition of the classes at the end of the 2011 calendar year. Debate on the bill was adjourned until 16 September; and eventually Nile was successful in pushing the government to establish a parliamentary inquiry to examine whether ethics classes in NSW schools should be abolished. Meanwhile, in introducing his bill into the Legislative Council, Nile gained headlines by arguing that the ethics course is based on a philosophy linked to Nazism
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
and Communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
.
Parliament activities
Nile served on the New South Wales' Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues (1988–1995), facilitating legislative reforms on adoption laws, drug abuse among youth, rape rates and pornography, domestic violence, youth violence, youth rural suicides, compensation for medically acquired AIDS/HIV victims, juvenile justice, births, deaths and marriage records.
From 2007 to 2019, Nile served as the assistant president of the New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
.
Nile also served on the New South Wales' Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, the New South Wales' Joint Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform, the Parliamentary Select Committee into Firearms, the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee into the Management of Parliament, as chairman of the Cross City Tunnel Inquiry, chairman of the General Purpose Standing Committee No. 1, chairman of the Select Committee on Electoral and Political Party Funding and chairman of the Joint Select Committee on the Royal North Shore Hospital among many others. Until his defeat as a Legislative Council candidate, Nile served as a member of the Standing Committee on Social Issues.
See also
* Congregational Federation of Australia
* List of people declared personae non gratae in Azerbaijan
Notes
References
Bibliography
* ''Fred Nile: A Biography'' Sydney: Strand: 2001:
External links
Official website
Christian Democratic Party
Seniors United Party of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nile, Fred
1934 births
Australian Army soldiers
Living people
Christian Democratic Party (Australia) politicians
Spouses of Australian politicians
Politicians from Sydney
Australian monarchists
Australian anti-abortion activists
Christian critics of Islam
Australian critics of Islam
Australian anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Australian Congregationalist ministers
20th-century Congregationalist ministers
21st-century Australian politicians
20th-century Australian politicians
21st-century Congregationalist ministers