MELBOURNE, VIC. — On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, journalist and editor of VicNews, Ashley Geelan, purchased a ticket to Monica Smit’s ‘Reignite Democracy Australia’s ‘Bye Bye GVT’ event using a credit card ending in 6499.
VicNews did not receive a ticket or refund.
Despite several attempts to contact Smit, she never responded. So, we reported her company, Reignite Democracy Australia Pty Ltd, to ScamWatch.
The event, which One Nation’s Victorian leader Warren Pickering and Avi Yemini (he is not a qualified journalist and Rebel News is not recognised, either within Australia or overseas, as a bona fide media outlet as it holds no ISSN), was held at Hawthorn East’s Tower Hotel, which has an ongoing reputation for hosting far-right events and Nazi gatherings.
As of Friday, September 25, 2026, VicNews has not received a refund or any communications from far-right neo-Nazi Monica Smit or her company Reignite Democracy Australia.
This does not appear to be the first time Monica Smit and her company Reignite Democracy Australia Pty Ltd have been caught up in controversy and ongoing, regular scams and have taken money from others for themselves, despite claiming online that such money is for event tickets, for a cause and the like.
By all accounts, almost all of Smit’s campaigns involve lying to her followers and grifting them for cash, which is known in criminal law as “obtain[ing] financial advantage by deception.” VicNews has also filed charges for such with Victoria Police. It is expected Smit will be charged via summons.
As of today, Friday, September 25, one can still buy tickets to an event held last Sunday from Smit’s Reignite Democracy Australia website.
Smit’s latest scams are her “Hands off Pauline” campaign, where she appears to be auditioning for a One Nation endorsement and candidacy, and one she launched today to end mandatory voting using a new web address operated by far-right Christian Nationalists, you know, the same people who love Trump’s America and parade around in pick-up trucks? That’s them.
“This is my next goal. Mandatory voting forces uneducated voters to make bad and emotional decisions,” she revealed to The Daily Declaration far-right Christian Nationalist journalist Joshua Spasaro.
Every time Smit launches a new campaign, there are always calls for donations involved as she continues grifting from her gullible followers.
VicNews does not seek money from Smit but will be pursuing our $10 through the courts and, which is likely to be successful, we will request that Smit personally donate $50,000 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and her company, Reignite Democracy Australia, donate $50,000 to the Australian Red Cross.
Another day, another Smit grift.
