In the late 1970s and 1980s, Australia witnessed a bold Nationalist renaissance — a powerful echo of the fiery union movements and visionary Labor traditions that helped forge the nation. It was a vision of a self-reliant, sovereign Australia: a country built for its founding people, where social equality replaced Europe’s rigid class divisions.
But by 1966, the Liberal government dismantled the White Australia Policy. Within two decades, a radical transformation of the nation’s identity was underway — with ordinary Australians given no voice in the decision.
One small organisation dared to resist: Australian National Action (ANA). For simply defending traditional Australian values and the right to national self-determination, they became the prime target of a ruthless campaign by the government and its notorious political police — the NSW Special Branch.
Orders came from the highest levels: shut them down at all costs.
What followed was an unprecedented war on free speech, political expression, and dissent. Corrupt Special Branch officers, working hand-in-glove with ASIO, unleashed a campaign of surveillance, harassment, framing, threats — and even murder. From 1988 to 1994, this shadowy conflict not only destroyed National Action but ultimately led to the disbandment of the Special Branch itself.
Now, for the first time, the full explosive truth is revealed.
Drawing on eyewitness accounts, newly released ASIO and Special Branch files, and hard-won evidence, former magazine editor and author Nathan Sykes delivers the definitive account in Shots Fired. This gripping, insider thriller exposes how the State turned its intelligence apparatus against its own citizens — framing innocents, including National Action leader Jim Saleam on bogus charges.
Timely, courageous, and unflinching, Shots Fired is essential reading in today’s Australia — where mass migration strains the social fabric, internet censorship tightens, and dissenting voices are once again being targeted.
Available now on Amazon Australia:
Buy Shots Fired on Amazon.com.au
