Young Nationals (Australia)

The Young Nationals is the youth division of the National Party of Australia, with membership open to those between 15 and 35 years of age. Young Nationals also have full party membership, and partake in state and federal conferences with equal rights to members of the senior party. They are active in National Party campaigning during all state and federal elections. It was first formed in Queensland in 1957, with other states following in subsequent years.
The movement is predominantly organised on the state division level, with each state organising its own events and policy as well as electing its own executive. In 2007 the Queensland Division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Queensland National Party merged to become the Liberal National Party of Queensland (A division of the Federal Liberal Party and an affiliate of the Federal National Party). As part of this merger process, the Queensland Young Liberals and the Queensland Young Nationals were merged to become the Young Liberal National Party (Young LNP). The Young LNP is effectively the Queensland division of both the federal Young Liberals and the federal Young Nationals, and is the largest division of each of these movements. The federal executive of the Young Nationals comprises members elected from delegations from each affiliated state Young Nationals organisation, and the President of each affiliate. Policy can also be adopted by the movement's federal body. These policies are often then advocated by the Federal Young Nationals on the floor of the Federal Council of the National Party of Australia, as well as in representations made directly to members of parliament.
Political impact.
Politically, the Young Nationals have had an increasingly significant impact on overall National Party policy and machinations in recent years. Young Nationals notably changed the party platform to oppose any form of mandatory ISP-level internet censorship and have also expressed strong federalist sentiments, having spearheaded a push to abolish the national curriculum. The Young Nationals also voted on a motion to support same-sex marriage and free votes on the issue. The movement has also been one of the stronger elements in the National Party that has expressed support for voluntary student unionism (VSU), eventually persuading Senator Fiona Nash to ditch the parliamentary party's opposition to VSU.
Infiltration by far-right extremists (2018).
In 2018, it was revealed that the NSW Young Nationals had been infiltrated by a significant number of neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists. Party leader Michael McCormack denounced these attempts, stating that "The Nationals will not tolerate extremism or the politics of hate. People found to engage with such radicalism are not welcome in our party". The leader of the NSW Nationals, John Barilaro, also denounced racism and fascism within the party.
The suspected neo-Nazis were expelled from the party and its youth wing. Several of the men who infiltrated the organisation were from a group called the New Guard (not to be confused with the 1930s New Guard), which operated a closed recruiting group on Facebook between 2015 and 2018. Self-described as fascists, the group's aim was to influence mainstream politics, and built wealth and created propaganda in order to do so. The 19 members expelled from the party also included members of the Lads Society, Antipodean Resistance, Squadron 88, and the Dingoes.