Scott Morrison embarrassed after backing Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan, who has now been dumped

After Scott Morrison abandoned support for Jessica Whelan, her political hopes seemed over. But now she’s made a shock announcement.

There has been a shock twist in the saga of dumped Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan.

Ms Whelan, who fell on her sword in the Tasmanian seat of Lyons after more offensive social media posts emerged, was accused of lying to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

This morning, in a statement confirming she would quit, Ms Whelan urged her supporters to vote for the National Party candidate in Lyons instead.

But she then told local media that she’ll run there as an independent... before backflipping on that plan.

“Am I going to be running around a new independent campaign? No. I don’t have time or energy for that. Probably not worth the personal attacks,” she clarified to the ABC.

Dumped Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan will now run as an independent. Picture Gary Ramage

It has been a morning of cleaning up messes for Scott Morrison, forced to wade through the crapstorm caused by former Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan while announcing a war on waste in Melbourne.

The Prime Minister was bombarded from every angle during a tense and lengthy press conference at Studley Park in Kew.

But a bizarre question out of left field saved Mr Morrison from a continued barrage over his candidate’s woes.

He arrived with rubber gloves on, prepared to pick through the metaphorical rubbish he has been dumped in since he backflipped on yesterday’s support for Ms Whelan.

And he did so for 30 minutes.

“As we followed through that matter yesterday and last night, it became clear there were other posts, there were no explanations (for),” Mr Morrison said of his 18-hour turnaround.

“We were dealing with the information we had yesterday … I stand by that.”

A bizarre question about Vegemite put a stop to Scott Morrison’s grilling over another dumped Liberal candidate. Picture: AAP

By the 20 minute mark — after stomping on questions about Ms Whelan like empty cans of Coke before they go in the recycling bin — Scott became eternally grateful for the humblest of Aussie icons: Vegemite.

The question came from nowhere: “What do you think about the idea of a government being able to change the recipe of Vegemite?”

ScoMo was startled. At first it seemed he was shocked that this question wasn’t about Whelan. Was it a trap? Or had news just broke that she had also slagged off Vegemite on Facebook.

“To change the? The government?” He stuttered?

“Labor is looking at a policy to mandate the amount of salt in food,” the journalist explained.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with anti-Adani protesters on a walk at Studley Park in Kew, Melbourne. Picture: AAP

The PM sighed. It was the most relaxed he’d been in 24 hours.

“Look I’ve heard some pretty crazy policies from the Labor Party but changing the recipe of Vegemite is a first I think,” he laughed.

“I have it on my toast pretty much every single morning and have since I was a kid. Jenny can’t stand me eating Vegemite she doesn’t like it at all. But I love it! I think it’s fantastic!”

He has never loved Vegemite more than he did in that moment.

‘I WAS LIED TO’

In less than 18 hours, the Prime Minister has gone from staunchly supporting Ms Whelan, the now-former Liberal candidate for Lyons in Tasmania, to saying she had to go.

He also claimed he had been lied to by Ms Whelan in a sensational exchange.

Journalist: Was the problem that her comments actually represent the views of some in the party. Her mistake was just putting it on social media?

PM: Her views were her views and they do not represent the views of the party I lead and they do not represent the views of the Liberal Party. These views were not disclosed to the Liberal Party at the time of her nomination, that was confirmed last night.

Journalist: They were aware yesterday?

PM: No, they weren’t, the information in front of us yesterday was not the information that we were able to receive overnight.

Journalist: Have you been lied to?

PM: Yes.

Mr Morrison then launched into an attack on the Labor Party over Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s continued support for Luke Creasey.

The Labor candidate has admitted sharing rape jokes and pornography on his Facebook page.

LIBERAL TURMOIL

The Liberal Party is in turmoil after having to dump its third candidate in days, with Ms Whelan falling on her sword this morning.

After appearing at an event with her yesterday, Mr Morrison said he believed a comment calling for women who support Islam to have their genitalia mutilated was fake.

Mr Morrison said the material had been referred to the Australian Federal Police but that is not the case. The AFP today said it had not received a complaint.

When asked at a media conference today if he was embarrassed by the party’s swift U-turn, Mr Morrison said he was not.

Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan is out. Picture Gary Ramage

Jessica Whelan made an awkward appearance with Scott Morrison yesterday. Picture Gary Ramage

Mr Morrison defended the preselection process that saw Ms Whelan picked as the candidate in the first place and denied her views represented those of the broader Liberal Party.

He also attacked Labor for its double-standards, given Bill Shorten is standing by a Melbourne candidate despite several offensive social media remarks coming to light.

“The Labor Party on this issue is in no position to lecture,” Mr Morrison said. “The standard you walk by is the standard you accept.”

Alleged Facebook post from Liberal candidate for Lyons Jessica Whelan.

This morning, the Liberal branch in Tasmania held emergency talks to remove Ms Whelan, before she offered her resignation.

It followed campaign spokesman Simon Birmingham saying she should not continue as the candidate after additional material came to light.

“I expect, based on the additional information that has come to light, that she will not continue to be the Liberal candidate,” Senator Birmingham told Today.

Shortly after 8am, Ms Whelan issued a statement via a spokesperson saying she was quitting.

“Jess Whelan vehemently maintains that she did not make the vulgar post reported in yesterday’s media,” it read. “However, she accepts that she has made some of the other posts in question.”

She conceded that the posts were inappropriate and said the Liberal Party was “not aware of their existence until they were reported”.

“Therefore, she has offered her resignation as a candidate and the Liberal Party has accepted it.”

RELATED: Stay up to date with what matters on our federal election page

Jessica Whelan has been dumped. Picture: AAP

There are serious questions about why the Liberals stood by Ms Whelan, leaving Mr Morrison exposed.

He has defended their decision, saying they worked with the information they had.

The controversy erupted yesterday with a report in The Mercury newspaper containing posts from Ms Whelan, including one suggesting women have their genitalia mutilated.

“Round them up Donald, cut their clitoris’ off & sell them to Muslims in Muslim countries & cancel their passports. You’ll make a mint.”

Another post attributed to her attacked Muslim immigration.

“Given that your profile states you went to College at ‘Never lose hope in ALLAH’. I hope you’re bloody NOT on our housing waiting list. You shouldn’t even be in Australia if you believe in ALLAH!” it read.

A spokesperson for Ms Whelan told the newspaper that screenshots of the comments had been doctored in an attempt to smear her.

He said they would be referred to authorities for investigation. It was an excuse that apparently satisfied the Prime Minister.

Jessica Whelan runs to a waiting car to avoid the media. Picture Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison yesterday stood by Liberal Candidate Jessica Whelan. Picture Gary Ramage

The Mercury newspaper has published more questionable remarks attacking Muslims and making derogatory comments about politicians in the Apple Isle.

“I care about our safety,” Ms Whelan wrote to former One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts.

“How about we have a referendum on whether or not we close our borders to Muslims? Now that I could vote for.”

In another post, she said about refugees fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq: “Don’t bloody send them to Tasmania. We don’t want them.”

And in a comment regarding a state Labor MP’s video, showing her speaking in parliament, Ms Whelan wrote: “That’s a lot of boob on show that doesn’t really need to be seen.”

Jessica Whelan (centre) with PM Scott Morrison on Facebook.

Today’s embarrassing backflip from the Liberals follows an awkward appearance by Ms Whelan yesterday at an event with Mr Morrison.

She refused to answer questions from reporters and was shielded by Liberal campaign staff, before running to a waiting vehicle and leaving.

“The imagery that we have found, that has been presented to us, appears to have been doctored,” Mr Morrison said.

“And so that is a matter that is being referred, I should say, to the Australian Federal Police. And this is a matter that will be subject to an investigation.”

Liberal Candidate Jessica Whelan carries an umbrella for Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s wife Jenny yesterday. Picture Gary Ramage

Ms Whelan’s disendorsement follows the departure of two Victorian candidates on Wednesday in a horror day on the campaign trail.

Peter Killin resigned in the wake of endorsing an extraordinary homophobic attack on prominent Liberal backbencher Tim Wilson.

Mr Killin made the remarks about Mr Wilson in the comments section of a blog by Christian right-wing figure Bill Muehlenberg, as first reported in The Age.

Another commenter, Michael Taouk, was complaining that the Liberal Party wasn’t doing enough to “remove preselection from that notorious homosexual Tim Wilson”.

Mr Killin replied: “Your observations about Mr T Wilson, federal member for Goldstein, are most pertinent at this point. Many of us will recall he was the openly homosexual who proposed to his boyfriend in parliment [sic].”

Comments about Muslim immigration allegedly made by Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan on Facebook.

Comments about Muslim immigration allegedly made by Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan on Facebook.

It came hours after Jeremy Hearn was dumped by the party over anti-Muslim comments made on social media.

He wrote taxpayers should stop funding Muslim schools because they were plotting a “rebellion against the government”.

“A Muslim is a person who subscribes to an ideology which requires the following: killing or enslavement of the citizens of Australia if they do not become Muslim, replacing the Australian Government and legal systems with sharia, lying about their purposes to conceal their activities,” he wrote in a comment on an article published by Quadrant.