Liberal candidate Jadon Atkinson’s support for far-right former senator Fraser Anning revealed

A Victorian Liberal candidate has been exposed for backing far-right former senator Fraser Anning as “a god” — but the Libs are standing by him.

A Victorian Liberal candidate has been exposed as a supporter of a far-right former senator who blamed Muslim immigration for the Christchurch mosque massacre in 2019.

The Herald Sun can reveal Jadon Atkinson, the Liberal candidate in Cooper, was an active member of a Facebook group of Clive Palmer fans in which he described ex-Queensland senator Fraser Anning as “a god”.

And while Mr Atkinson has publicly described the inner city Labor-held electorate as a “great place” to live, he complained online that it had been “overrun by lefttards”.

Liberal candidate for Cooper Jadon Atkinson.

But the Liberal Party is standing by the candidate who told the Herald Sun the Facebook posts “do not reflect my current views”.

In January 2019, Mr Anning was condemned by political leaders for attending a far-right rally in Melbourne — organised by convicted extremists Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson — where Nazi salutes were given.

Several days later, Mr Atkinson liked a Facebook post in the “Palmy Army” Facebook group which said: “If you want to win the election, you need Senator Fraser Anning as your deputy. This bloke and yourself are exactly what this leftie run country want. Get recruiting Clivey Boy”.

Mr Atkinson replied: “Fraser is a god”.

Then senator Fraser Anning blamed Muslim immigration for the Christchurch mosque massacre in 2019.

In the wake of the Christchurch shooting in March, which claimed 51 lives, the then-senator blamed Muslims and said they were “usually the perpetrators” of violence.

“Left-wing politicians and the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with gun laws or those who hold nationalist views, but this is all clichéd nonsense,” Mr Anning said.

“The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand.”

Scott Morrison described his comments as “despicable” and “not something my government associates with”.

A social post shared by Liberal candidate Jadon Atkinson.

“His conflation of this horrendous terrorist attack with issues of immigration, in his attack on Islamic faith specifically, these comments are appalling and they’re ugly and they have no place in Australia,” the Prime Minister said at the time.

“He should be, frankly, ashamed of himself.”

Mr Atkinson later shared a video of Mr Palmer telling voters to put Mr Anning last on their voting cards and commented: “dont diss anning clivey”.

In a statement, Mr Atkinson told the Herald Sun: “Like many people I have made statements when I was younger that I regret. I was 17-years-old when those statements were made and I can barely recall them, the timing or the context.”