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Ralph Babet

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Senator
Ralph Babet
Leader of the United Australia Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 February 2024[citation needed]
ChairmanClive Palmer
Preceded byCraig Kelly
Senator for Victoria
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2022
Personal details
Born (1983-06-29) 29 June 1983 (age 41)
Rodrigues, Mauritius
Nationality
Political partyUnited Australia (since 2022)
Other political
affiliations		Australian Sovereignty Party (2010)
EducationSt John's Regional College
Alma materSwinburne University of Technology
Occupation
  • Real estate agent
  • Politician
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
NicknameDeej

Ralph Emmanuel Didier "Deej" Babet[2] (/bəˈbɛt/ bə-BET;[3] born 29 June 1983) is an Australian politician. He has been a Senator for Victoria since 2022, representing the United Australia Party (UAP). He is the party's only current federal MP and was a real estate agent prior to entering politics.

Early life and career

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Babet was born on 29 June 1983 on the remote Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, part of the Republic of Mauritius.[4] He and his family migrated to Australia in 1990 when he was seven years old, and he became an Australian citizen in 1993. He spoke French as his first language.[5]

Babet grew up in Doveton, attending the Holy Family Catholic Primary School and later St John's Regional College in Dandenong.[6] He holds the degree of Bachelor of Business from Swinburne University of Technology and an advanced diploma in sales and marketing from the Chisholm Institute.[4]

On Christmas Day 2014 in Toorak, Babet was charged with criminal damage. On 6 March 2017, a criminal damage charge was recorded but no conviction was given by the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. He was instead ordered to participate in a diversion program.[7]

On 6 September 2015, he was charged with unlawful assault in South Melbourne. Babet pleaded guilty to the charges at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 22 August 2018. In exchange for Babet's compliance with a bond/undertaking, the charges were dismissed.[8]

Together with his brother Matt, Babet runs a real estate firm.[9] His brother unsuccessfully contested the seat of Bruce in the 2022 federal election.[2]

Political career

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Babet was on the committee of the Australian Sovereignty Party in 2010. The party never contested any elections.[10]

Babet renounced his Mauritian citizenship in March 2022, just under a month before the federal election was called to avoid being disqualified from the Australian Parliament by Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.[citation needed]

While United Australia Party chairman Clive Palmer ran a candidate in every seat and spent a reported $100,000,000 on the campaign, Babet was the sole success for the UAP at the 2022 federal election by taking the sixth Victorian senate seat from the Liberal Party's Greg Mirabella.[11] According to psephologist Antony Green's analysis of the Victorian Senate Election, Babet's win was due to strong One Nation preference flows once One Nation was excluded.[12] Green went on to say that once Babet was ahead he could lose only if Mirabella's preferences flowed to Labor, which was unlikely since the Coalition's how-to-vote card had recommended second preference to the United Australia Party.[citation needed]

On 8 September 2022, the United Australia Party was voluntarily deregistered by the Australian Electoral Commission.[13] Babet stated the deregistration was made for "administrative reasons" and that he would continue to represent the deregistered party in the Senate.[14] Babet is able to continue identifying as a United Australia Party member in the Senate, with the office of the Clerk of the Senate stating that Babet’s status as a UAP senator would not change until he advised the office otherwise.[13]

On 9 September 2023, Babet launched a bid in the Federal Court to force the AEC to acknowledge crosses as a no vote for the Indigenous Voice referendum.[15] On 20 September 2023 Justice Steven Rares ruled in favour of the AEC on merits, and ordered Babet and the co-applicant Palmer to pay the AEC's costs.[16]

On 9 October 2023, Babet and Palmer appealed the case with the full Federal Court and lost unanimously.[17] Justice Anthony Besanko ordered costs be paid.[citation needed]

On 17 February 2024, Babet appeared in a photo with a member of the National Socialist Network, who was performing a partial Nazi salute.[18] Babet distanced himself from the man and told The Age "I don't know the guy".[18]

On 10 November 2024, Babet again drew controversy when he tweeted racial and homophobic slurs.[19] Following this tweet, Babet was censured by the Australian Senate for "his inflammatory use of hate speech, designed to drive division for his own political benefit"[20].

Political views

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Babet says that he stands for freedom and individual liberties.[21] He is against vaccine mandates and the "ever-growing power and authoritarianism of the government",[22] and he believes the mandates are "segregation".[23] He says he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, considering the vaccine to be "emergency gene therapy".[24]

During the campaign he said his first order of business will be to push for a Bill of Rights.[25] Babet claims to be a former Greens voter,[24] he now considers the ideology of the Greens to be "cancerous to a free and open society".[26] He does not consider the science of climate change to be "settled" or believe that humans are responsible for the cause.[24] He believes that there is an equal number of scientists on either side of the debate.[27] On energy solutions he believes "solar panels and batteries are bad for the environment".[28]

Babet says he is "not happy" with transgender issues being taught at schools, saying he disagrees with "little boys and girls being taught that you can be a boy one day and a girl the next day".[29]

Babet has promoted a number of conspiracy theories, including that the 2022 election was going to be rigged.[2] He also supports the Great Reset conspiracy theory and also believes that the World Economic Forum is pushing non-white immigration in an effort to create a tyrannical world government[30] and is "trying to do away with the concept of private ownership".[24]

Babet has been openly critical of the "billionaire circus" that he perceives to be the World Economic Forum, while at the same time praising some billionaires including Clive Palmer, who funded the electoral campaign which won Babet's seat, and Elon Musk.[31] In his opening Senate speech, Babet spoke of his disdain for 'radical Marxists'.[32]

Babet considered his $200,000 parliamentary salary a "pay cut" and believes that it is too little for the "suffering" that he will endure in parliament and that he would "be happier" staying in Narre Warren running his real estate business.[23]

Babet opposed the Voice to Parliament.[33]

Babet considers voluntary euthanasia "murder", calling it a "darkness that will engulf us all".[34]

Babet is critical of the Australian Government's proposed legislation to ban children under 16 from social media,[35] tweeting that the "authoritarian measures are a Trojan Horse" to "wield the big stick over Australian citizens and control what we do".[36] He also referred to the Australian Government as a "far-left extremist government".[36]

Babet attended the two week Australian Defence Force Parliamentary program in 2023, but was criticised by the Australian Defence Association (an independent think tank) for his publication of photos wearing military uniform for blurring the lines between politics and armed forces.[37] Neil James, the executive director of the Australian Defence Association, said "misusing the parliamentary exchange program is disgraceful", and that Babet's frequent publication in military wear was "cosplaying".[37]

Personal life

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Babet is Catholic.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Qualification Checklist – Ralph Babet" (PDF). aec.gov.au. Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, Cam (20 June 2022). "Meet Ralph Babet, Clive Palmer acolyte and Victoria's newest senator". Crikey. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  3. ^ Babet Brothers (25 July 2018). "Should you sell your house in this declining market or should you wait..." Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b "Ralph Babet". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  5. ^ Senator Ralph Babet (3 August 2022). "First Speech". Senate Hansard. Commonwealth of Australia: Parliament of Australia. p. 516. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2022. Archived 20 November 2024 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Ralph Babet [@senatorbabet] (1 November 2021). "I WASN'T BORN HERE. MY FAMILY BROUGHT ME HERE FOR A BETTER LIFE. THEY ARE TAKING IT FROM ME. I SAY NO!!! 😠 Here is a very short clip from my candidate application video with the United Australia Party" – via Instagram.
  7. ^ Buckley, John (20 June 2022). "An Election Fraud Conspiracy Theorist Has Been Elected to the Australian Senate". Vice. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  8. ^ Eddie, Rachel (20 May 2022). "Socialists, separatists and splinter groups - your Victorian Senate ticket guide". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Babet Brothers Real Estate – We are the Babet Brothers!". Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Introducing the Australian Sovereignty Party". truthnews.com.au. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Meet Clive Palmer's $100m man". Australian Financial Review. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  12. ^ Green, Antony (4 June 2022). "2022 Victorian Senate Election". Antony Green's Election Blog. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  13. ^ a b Visentin, Lisa (9 September 2022). "'Where are you seeing that?' Deregistration of UAP catches Palmer's senator by surprise". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  14. ^ Butler, Josh (9 September 2022). "Clive Palmer's United Australia party deregistered but lone senator says he still represents it". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  15. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (9 September 2023). "Palmer launches court bid to force AEC to count 'X' as 'No' in Voice vote". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  16. ^ Visontay, Elias; Wind, Emily; Visontay (now), Elias; Wind (earlier), Emily (20 September 2023). "Australia news live: Central Land Council executive condemns Jacinta Price's 'denial of history'; Alan Joyce paid $21.4m in 2022-23". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Court rejects Palmer appeal over tick for Yes". Australian Financial Review. 9 October 2023. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  18. ^ a b Rooney, Kieran; Begley, Patrick (18 February 2024). "Senator distances himself from neo-Nazi's social media post". The Age. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  19. ^ Ireland, Olivia (11 November 2024). "United Australia senator Ralph Babet posts racist, homophobic slurs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024.
  20. ^ Evans, Jake (18 November 2024). "Senate censures Lidia Thorpe over King Charles protest and Ralph Babet over offensive tweets after Trump election victory". ABC News. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  21. ^ "He spent up to $100 million to win maybe one seat. What happened to Clive Palmer's party this election?". SBS News. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  22. ^ Koob, Simone Fox (22 May 2022). "Clive Palmer candidate could be Victorian senator thanks to Liberal preferences". The Age. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  23. ^ a b Gould, Courtney (24 June 2022). "'Suffering': New senator Ralph Babet's whinge about $200k payday". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d e Smethurst, Annika; Bonyhady, Nick (8 July 2022). "Clive Palmer's $100 million senator reveals his political agenda". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  25. ^ FULL DEBATE: Victorian freedom candidates fight for your vote on YouTube
  26. ^ @ralphdeejbabet (16 May 2022). "The ideology of the greens is cancerous to a free and open society. We do not and will never support their ideology. We believe in freedom not totalitarianism" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Mike Ryan (5 July 2022). "Senator Ralph Babet & John Parsons on The Mike Ryan Show". The Mike Ryan Show (Podcast). TNT Radio. Event occurs at 19:30. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  28. ^ Ralph Babet [@senatorbabet] (24 July 2022). "Solar panels and batteries are bad for the environment. Think about what goes into these products and how short their useful life is" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Mike Ryan (5 July 2022). "Senator Ralph Babet & John Parsons on The Mike Ryan Show". The Mike Ryan Show (Podcast). TNT Radio. Event occurs at 13:00. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  30. ^ "An Election Fraud Conspiracy Theorist Has Been Elected to the Australian Senate". www.vice.com. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  31. ^ Wilson, Cam (20 June 2022). "Ralph Babet: conspiracy theorist, anti-lockdown advocate, and new senator". Crikey. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  32. ^ Giannini, Dominic (3 August 2022). "Palmer senator hits out at political class | Sound Telegraph". Sound Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  33. ^ Babet, Ralph (25 January 2023). "Voice of racism". The Spectator Australia. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  34. ^ Senator Babet [@senatorbabet] (5 July 2023). "Our society is almost lost. Our moral compass is broken. We have devalued human life to the point whereby murder is now legalised and normalised" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ Pal, Alasdair; Kaye, Byron (7 November 2024). "Australia proposes 'world-leading' ban on social media for children under 16". Reuters. Retrieved 13 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ a b Senator Babet [@senatorbabet] (12 November 2024). "Censorship, control and Digital ID. Labor's citizen management program is underway" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via Twitter.
  37. ^ a b "UAP senator accused of politicising the military after posing in air force uniform". SBS News. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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