Candidates resign in day of carnage on Federal Election campaign trail

In the past 24 hours, the major parties have been rocked by a series of political scandals after a string of candidates were forced to resign and apologise for offensive online tirades.

Homophobic, anti-Islamic and rape joke rants have led to a day of carnage among federal election candidates as major political parties were forced into damage control.

Two Liberal candidates were forced out after the Herald Sun revealed their offensive online tirades, one of which included an attack on an openly gay federal MP.

But Labor is standing by its candidate in the seat of Melbourne, Luke Creasey, who has apologised for sharing a rape joke and lewd images on Facebook in 2012.

PETER KILLIN QUITS OVER GAY LIFESTYLE COMMENTS

JEREMY HEARN SACKED OVER ANTI-MUSLIM COMMENTS

ALP CANDIDATE SHARED RAPE JOKES ON FACEBOOK

The Herald Sun can reveal that, before the Liberals sacked Jeremy Hearn as their candidate in the Melbourne seat of Issacs, the party’s powerful administrative committee had been split on dumping him over his anti-Muslim comments.

It is understood interventions from state leader Michael O’Brien and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the highest-ranking Victorian in the party, helped sway the decision to sack Mr Hearn over his comments, revealed by the Herald Sun.

Hours later, the Liberal candidate for Wills, Peter Killin, was forced to resign after the Herald Sun revealed he had made a number of homophobic posts.

Mr Hearn said in online posts that Muslim Australians were “clearly people of bad character” and should be banned from getting Australian citizenship because they were trying to replace Australia’s system of government with Islamic sharia law.

Mr Killin said “the homosexual lifestyle” was “distressingly dangerous” and carried “appalling health risks”.

He also said he would have voted against the preselection of Liberal Goldstein MP Tim Wilson because he was gay.

Last February, in a submission to the Ruddock ­Religious Freedom Review, he endorsed a 2011 blog post by Presbyterian pastor Campbell Markham describing the homosexual lifestyle as “distressingly dangerous” and “having appalling health risks”.

“The dangers and health risks have been well documented in many reliable medical sources for years”, Mr Killin wrote, adding: “Markham’s is a biblical perspective backed up by current medical science.”

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Mr Wilson told the Herald Sun he’d “turn the other cheek and leave judgment to others”.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, accusing the Liberal Party of being “riddled with Right-wing extremists”, said it had not done enough to stamp out unacceptable behaviour.

Adam Bandt called on Mr Creasey, his opponent, to “reconsider” his position as the Labor candidate for the seat.

Greens member for Melbourne Adam Bandt called on Mr Creasey, his opponent, to “reconsider” his position as the Labor candidate for the seat.

“Violence against women in any circumstances is unacceptable,” he said.

Victorian Liberal senator Jane Hume said Mr Creasey’s posts were “simply foul” and Labor “must immediately disendorse him in the seat”.

“A candidate who makes rape jokes and shares pornographic material online is not welcome in the Australian parliament,” Senator Hume said.

Mr Creasey apologised, ­saying the posts were “stupid, immature and in no way reflect the views I hold today”.

This week, Labor dumped Northern Territory Senate candidate Wayne Kurnoth after it was revealed he shared an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory online that the world was run by a secret ­society of Jewish shapeshifting lizards.

Mr Shorten said: “This fellow, who I have never met, who was on the Northern Territory Senate ticket, I don’t think … anyone is contrasting (what he did) with the complete Islamophobia of the ­Liberals. But nonetheless, not appropriate, gone.”

A picture yesterday emerged of Mr Shorten with his arm around Mr Kurnoth.

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