UAP Senator says he’ll quit politics after his first term amid outrage over praise for Kanye West’s track ‘Heil Hitler’

United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet says he plans to quit politics in 2028 at the end of his first term, but not before launching a tirade that has drawn national condemnation for glorifying neo-Nazis and endorsing Kanye West’s antisemitic track ‘Heil Hitler’.

“I have no desire to become a career politician,” Babet told The Australian. “I don’t want to become one of those swamp creatures, one of those swamp dwellers. I want to do my one term, and I want to go.” Babet is the only federal senator representing the United Australia Party (UAP).

The announcement followed an expletive-laden video posted on Instagram, where Babet called ‘Heil Hitler’ his “favourite song of the week” and declared he would “rather hang out with neo-Nazis than mentally ill leftists.”

The track, released by West (now known as Ye), includes Nazi imagery and samples of Adolf Hitler’s speeches. Although removed from Spotify and Apple Music, it remains widely available on social media platforms and has already been viewed more than 8.5 million times.

 

In his video, Babet said, “All I said was it was a good song, right? I like Kanye West. He’s a great artist … If someone else doesn’t like what he puts out, don’t buy it. Don’t listen to it. But don’t you f..king dare tell me what I can and can’t listen to.”

Rejecting accusations of antisemitism, he said, “If they’re going to try and associate me with being a Nazi, a brown immigrant from Africa, that’s f..king bullshit. You know it. I know it.”

Asked later what he would say to Jewish Australians offended by his post, Babet again refused to apologise, saying, “I can listen to whatever music I like. If they want to be offended because Kanye West released a song, don’t download the song … But don’t tell me as a grown man what I can and can’t listen to.” He added, “I think it’s a good song and I’m going to be buying his album. Does that make me a Nazi? No, I’m not a Nazi. I just like his music.”

Babet intensified the controversy in a separate Instagram post in which he said he would “rather hang out with members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network than with the baby-killing, murdering, leftists.”

When questioned by The Australian, he insisted the comment was “tongue in cheek” but added, “There’s also truth to that.” He then acknowledged that “they want to f..king deport me … because I’m brown,” concluding, “I wouldn’t hang out with them, and they wouldn’t hang out with me, either.”

He also described progressive Australians as “Greens voters that are mentally ill” and accused them of wanting to “tear down the family,” “do gender mutilating surgery on children,” and “put kids on puberty blockers.”

 

Babet’s recent remarks are consistent with a long pattern of inflammatory conduct. In November 2024, he was formally censured by the Senate after using racist, homophobic and ableist slurs in a tweet, including the N-word and the words “phaggot” and “retarded.”

Earlier that year, he was criticised for posting a misleading video clip from a Senate estimates hearing, which gave the false impression that government officials could not answer questions about excess mortality. The video prompted threats against public servants, and a Senate committee found that Babet had breached broadcast standards.

In February 2024, Babet was photographed alongside known neo-Nazi Nathan Bull, who was performing a Nazi salute while Babet gave a thumbs-up. The image was posted to social media by Bull with the caption “Heil Ralph Babet, Heil our people.” Babet later claimed he did not know the man or notice the gesture. He has also been accused of spreading disinformation, including the false claim that children were 51 times more likely to die from COVID-19 vaccines than the virus itself.

The senator’s remarks have triggered furious condemnation from Australian Jewish leaders, who accused him of glorifying Hitler and antisemitism. Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, described Babet’s “unhinged comments” as “offensive and un-Australian,” stating, “There is absolutely nothing ‘tongue in cheek’ about a sitting MP endorsing neo-Nazis, glorifying anti-Semitism, and using slurs to attack minorities; it’s a dog whistle.”

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said Babet was “trying to position himself as a martyr for free speech merely standing up for the right to listen to the music of his choice. No one denied this right. No one sought to edit his playlist. Perhaps the better question is who was he trying to impress in making these observations about his taste in music. These sorts of stunts might get clicks and maybe votes in the US, but our politics and politicians should be better than that.”

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, called the incident a “public meltdown of moral responsibility,” and said, “When a federal parliamentarian publicly declares that a track titled ‘Heil Hitler’ is his favourite of the week, alarm bells shouldn’t be ringing, they should be deafening.

Hitler is not a meme or a punchline. His name stands for genocide, mass murder, gas chambers. It is carved into the bones of six million Jews and millions more victims. And now, a senator is casually promoting that name like it’s just another track in a playlist.”