Leaflets opposing AFL Pride match handed out at Liberal fundraiser

LEAFLETS opposing the AFL’s first Pride match have been distributed at a fundraising dinner attended by former prime minister Tony Abbott.

A leaflet distributed at a fundraising dinner attended by Tony Abbott and hosted by the Menzies-Warrandyte Young Liberals.

LEAFLETS opposing the AFL’s first Pride match have been distributed at a fundraising dinner attended by former prime minister Tony Abbott.

Guests at the $120-a-head black tie dinner in Victoria gathered to support the re-election of local MP and former defence minister Kevin Andrews, and fellow Victorian MP for the seat of Deakin, Michael Sukkar. Mr Abbott was due to give the main address.

As well as a three-course meal, auction and raffle, guests were also greeted with flyers that said: “Saints, Swans and the AFL. Who do you think you are? By support for the same-sex attracted agenda with a Pride Game you are saying that you don’t support natural marriage.

“Two men cannot replace a child’s mother. Two women cannot replace a child’s father.”

They're handing this baby out at the Abbott/Andrews/Sukkar dinner... #auspol pic.twitter.com/gTMSaLoSb0

— James Campbell (@J_C_Campbell) May 7, 2016

It’s not the first time the leaflets, aimed at derailing the AFL’s first Pride match on August 13, have appeared. They were also left on spectators’ cars outside the VFL game between Sandringham and Footscray last month.

The dinner at the Veneto Club in Bulleen was organised by the Menzies-Warrandyte Young Liberals, a new socially conservative branch of the party. President Stephanie Ross is well-known for her anti-abortion views.

But Ms Ross said she had no idea who brought the leaflets to the event.

“We organised the tables ourselves and we had nothing to do with that leaflet, nor do we endorse its contents,” she told news.com.au.

“It’s my understanding that only three tables received the leaflets.”

She said the Menzies-Warrandyte Young Liberals would be discussing the incident with the state executive and will look at measures to prevent material being distributed at future events. She said the situation was disappointing.

“We were not here to discuss views, we were here to raise money for a marginal seat,” she said.

“(The event) had absolutely nothing to do with people’s personal views on contentious social issues.”

The controversy is the latest to surround Mr Andrew’s seat, with the conservative MP under pressure to resign over allegations of branch stacking. One of his staff members quit on Friday over allegations members of the Macedonian community were signed up to the Liberal Party without their knowledge.

Earlier Victorian Young Liberals president Jess Wilson told news.com.au that the material in the leaflets was “not representative of the views of the broader Young Liberal Movement and would be offensive to many members”.

She said the function was organised by the Menzies-Warrandyte Young Liberals and was not organised by the Victorian Young Liberals state executive.

“The material in question was not authorised by the Liberal Party,” she said.

Tony Abbott gave the main address at the Liberal fundraiser.

Ms Wilson said she could not comment on whether any action would be taken in relation to the distribution of the material at the fundraising event and said it was a matter for the Liberal Party.

Victoria Liberal state director Simon Frost said he had no comment to make on the matter.

The St Kilda Saints and Sydney Swans will be the first two teams to play in the Pride match to celebrate diversity and stamp out homophobia.

St Kilda Saints chief executive Matt Finnis has been instrumental in organising the Pride match, inspired by country footballer Jason Ball who was the first player to come out as gay, and who has organised a Pride Cup for local teammates in past years. During the games 50 metre lines were painted in rainbow colours.

Originally published as Leaflets opposing AFL Pride match handed out at Liberal fundraiser