Australia First Movement

The Australia First Movement (AFM) was an extremist political movement founded in Sydney in October 1941, which advocated for isolationism and collaborationism during World War II and supported fascism and Nazism. It grew out of the Rationalist Association of New South Wales and the Victorian Socialist Party, and was led by former Rhodes scholar Percy Stephensen and Adela Pankhurst. It has been alleged that writer Miles Franklin was also involved in the AFM, as she attended three AFM public meetings in December 1941, and had long time literary associations and friendships with Stephenson, Herbert and Dark. However, historian Jill Roe has documented Franklin's clear opposition to the political views of the AFM in her 2008 biography of Stella Miles Franklin. The AFM was inspired by the activities of retired businessman William John Miles, who had campaigned during the 1930s under the "Australia First" slogan.