LNP candidate Bree James called out for post ‘celebrating’ German history next to defaced photo

A Queensland LNP candidate has apologised for comments she made alongside a picture of herself defaced to resemble Adolf Hitler. But it’s not the first time her judgment has been questioned.

The post which has subsequently been deleted.

A Far North LNP candidate has apologised for comments she made alongside a picture of herself defaced to resemble Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Candidate for Barron River, Bree James, uploaded an image to social media on Saturday afternoon showing her standing alongside a campaign banner, which has been altered so she had a Hitler-esque toothbrush moustache on her upper lip.

The Facebook post was deleted minutes later with Ms James issuing an apology.

“Earlier today (Saturday) I posted a picture of one of my signs that had been defaced,” she said.

The post which has subsequently been deleted.

“In an attempt to make light of the vandalism on the sign I posted a picture on my Facebook which I now deeply regret.

“It was offensive, it was not funny, I sincerely regret posting it and the post has been removed.

“I am deeply sorry to anyone I have offended.”

But Ms James failed to explain a second image she posted last year of a man wearing a helmet emblazoned with a swastika and SS insignia.

The post was subsequently deleted by Bree James.

Last December Ms James posted a series of photos from a fundraiser she organised in 2006 following Tropical Cyclone Larry.

Included in the photos is a man on a stage wearing a Nazi helmet alongside two other gentlemen.

Questions to Ms James regarding the photo were not answered with an LNP spokeswoman also unable to provide an explanation prior to deadline.

Member for Barron River, Craig Crawford slammed Ms James’ latest post, declaring it “troubling and bizarre”.

“There is nothing to celebrate about Hitler, Nazi Germany, or the SS Death Squad,” Mr Crawford said.

“I would have pulled the banner down within minutes.

A photo posted by Ms James from a fundraiser organised in 2006.

“She left it up for a week then posts about celebrating the ‘spirit’ of that dark chapter of German history on Facebook.”

It’s not the first time Ms James has been called out for insensitive remarks.

In a 2017 magazine column she shared anecdote about her child making a racial slur towards a stranger.

“I wanted to curl up and die when one of my boys, who was probably nearly two, pointed out an African man at Bunnings and said ‘hey monkey’,” Ms James wrote.

“Thankfully the man laughed, and said it happens all the time.”

Labor member for Barron River Craig Crawford. File picture

An LNP spokesman defended the comments earlier this year.

“In this particular story, Bree details a lived experience where her two-year-old made a wildly inappropriate statement (as they do), how she was mortified by that statement and the gentle kindness and forgiveness displayed by the man in question,” he said.

“Many mothers would know this is not always the reaction of people toward them when their child is misbehaving in public.

In 2022, the public display of hate symbols, including those related to Nazi ideology, were banned in Queensland.

Originally published as LNP candidate Bree James called out for post ‘celebrating’ German history next to defaced photo