‘We were taught that the world is evil outside’: How one woman fled the Redeemer Baptists

August 16, 2026 — 5:00am

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Alexandra Garth appeared this week before the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the Redeemer Baptist School at North Parramatta, detailing her experiences in – and how she escaped from – the church community. The inquiry was prompted by a six-month investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald’s Emily Kowal, together with 60 Minutes.

Fitz: Alexandra, I was fascinated – and appalled – by some of your account this week. Can you tell us something of your background in that church community?

AG: I was born into it. My grandfather Pastor Noel Cannon was a founding elder who established Redeemer Baptist Church and was the first principal of the school. My uncle Jonathan Cannon is the current principal. The Cannon family drove a more expensive car, lived in a larger house compared to the majority of the community who lived more modestly.

Fitz: And you were raised in fundamentalism?

AG: One hundred per cent. From birth, we were taught that the world’s evil outside, that the Redeemer Baptist Church is the one true way, and that those who leave are evil.

Fitz: And yet, somehow, you managed to challenge it?

AG: When I was about nine years old, I remember just feeling so hopeless in that I could see my whole life in front of me, and it wasn’t my life. It was what they wanted me to do. I didn’t have any agency, and I knew that if I were to have the chance to leave one day and be free, it would be at the cost of never seeing my family again. So I became quite depressed from a really young age. I would often ask, “Why do we have to do this, why are things this way?

AG: Why is it only men who make all the decisions, and why aren’t women treated equally to men? Why are all the elders, men? Why are women not allowed to preach? We were told that to protect our young men from sinning, it’s our job as women to not cause them to lust with our clothing. What? And when I questioned things, I would be told, “Oh, Alexandra, you don’t always have to over-intellectualise everything. Just have faith. Remember our motto: ‘To hear is to obey’. Trust us.” I was told: “Submit to the leadership.” When I still questioned things, I was labelled as “a troublemaker” or referred to as “a tyranny”.

Fitz: A tyranny? Geez, Louise. That sounds grim. Now, don’t tell me anything if it will trigger post-traumatic stress in you, but what were the absolute low points for you?

AG: It’s ok. [She refers to allegations she made under parliamentary privilege, on Monday.]”My dad was going to spank me on my parents’ bed and I didn’t want it. I said, ‘No, I hate my life.’ And I just snapped after years of bottling it up. Then (my uncle, the principal) Jon Cannon came into my parents’ bedroom . . . and listened to me and said, ‘Well, you can’t just say that and get away with it.’ He held me down on the bed so my dad could hit me. I was struggling underneath them. Then they managed to hit me three times on my upper thigh, but I was struggling”.

Fitz: To which I should emphasise, this is what you alleged during the parliamentary inquiry on Monday, as the Redeemer Baptist Church denies this. And what about the other episode, if it won’t trigger you?

AG: No, fine. I alleged I was........

© The Sydney Morning Herald