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Australian Christian Lobby casts doubt on police finding on van explosion

Fergus Hunter

The head of the Australian Christian Lobby is doubling down on his scepticism of the ACT police declaration that a van explosion outside the conservative group's Canberra headquarters was not politically motivated.

The morning after the suspicious Wednesday-night explosion, ACL managing director Lyle Shelton was quick to link it to political controversy over his organisation's stances on same-sex marriage and the Safe Schools initiative, setting his sights on "extreme left" politicians who have criticised them.

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ACL responds to suspected car bomb attack

The head of the Australian Christian Lobby Lyle Shelton has spoken to the media about the allegedly targeted bombing of their office in Canberra. Vision courtesy: ABC News 24

But later in the day, ACT Policing released a statement saying they had established the actions of the 35-year-old male driver, who was the only person injured in the incident, "were not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated".

As the police investigation continues, Mr Shelton said he remained sceptical as to how quickly they dismissed these motives, contending: "There's a whole bunch of things that just don't add up".

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"I certainly hope the police are right but it just seems like too much of a coincidence that this van would find its way here in a very obscure location," he told Fairfax Media.

"If you were looking for somewhere randomly to blow yourself up, this is a very strange place to do it."

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He said that it "just doesn't make sense" and was "too soon to be able to establish [his motives] unequivocally".

The police said gas cylinders inside the van were ignited late on Wednesday night outside the organisation's headquarters in the suburb of Deakin, roughly 2.5 kilometres from Parliament House. The driver then presented himself to Canberra Hospital where he was in a "critical condition" on Thursday, according to ACT Health.

The van was destroyed and the two-storey building was badly damaged. Outside, shattered glass covered the ground and the concrete was scorched with burn marks.

Early on Thursday, Mr Shelton told ABC radio he thought "something of this nature, that appears to be so deliberate, is an attack against the sort of things that we've been saying in the public square."

In the afternoon, following the police statement on motive, Mr Shelton refused to apologise for saying it was an attempt to silence the ACL and connecting the explosion the "incendiary" rhetoric of "extreme left" politicians.

He singled out Greens, such as former senator Robert Simms and serving MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt, and said labelling the ACL "bigots" and a "hate group" could create a "permission structure to people who might be unhinged".

"If someone is a little bit unhinged and they are also hearing language coming from parliamentarians saying we're a hate group, we're bigots, then that is not something is going to be helpful," he said, describing the context of his concerns about ACL staff safety.

Mr Bandt said: "By desperately trying to link this incident with politicians despite the police saying it wasn't politically motivated, the ACL has just destroyed its last shred of credibility. I'm disappointed that Lyle Shelton keeps trying to make political mileage out of this, but it does tell you a lot about the way these people work."

Mr Shelton also rejected that some of his own contributions to debates on sexuality - including Nazi allusions and warnings of another stolen generation - were offensive or incendiary, saying that he was "just stating a reality".

Deputy Chief Police Commander Mark Walters said their conclusion was based on conversations with the man, an ACT local not previously known to police. His injuries prevented further conversations on Thursday but they have spoken with his family.

Their investigation is taking in previous death threats made against the group, which Mr Shelton told Fairfax Media had been frequent in recent times with fraught debates over marriage and Safe Schools.

He said most had been made by phone to the headquarters and some were reported to police. They had acted on one, attending the home of a Tasmanian man.

Over that time, the ACL have started locking the office door during business hours and will now review security comprehensively following the Wednesday night explosion.

The group has clashed repeatedly with leading advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality. Alex Greenwich, co-chairman of AME, called the incident "shocking and saddening" and said "thoughts and prayers are with everyone at the Australian Christian Lobby".

with Sherryn Groch, Finbar O'Mallon and Clare Sibthorpe

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