Brent Potter: More social media posts emerge as Eva Lawler sticks by NT Police Minister
More potentially damaging social media posts have emerged from embattled Labor Minister Brent Potter. Read the latest.
Police & Courts
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Police Minister Brent Potter’s credibility as a Labor Party “true believer” has again been challenged after a new cache of social media activity emerged on Thursday morning.
Pressure is growing on Chief Minister Eva Lawler to disclose when she first learned of the posts, many of which appear to support Liberal National Party members, while criticising Labor Party politicians.
Mr Potter, who yesterday dismissed as “satire” a series of posts that quoted a Nazi general, used the ‘n’ word and criticised Orthodox Jews, will front media to “answer all questions” – after refusing to front the pack on Wednesday.
Police Association president Nathan Finn in a statement said he spoke with Mr Potter on Wednesday to express his “deep disappointment” with the disclosures, as well as a lack of an apology from Mr Potter.
He told Mr Potter it was difficult to see how he could continue as Police Minister in the circumstances.
Mr Potter will have to respond to more disclosures of his social media activity published this morning by the NT Independent, the substance of which included jabs at Labor Party figures, reposing apparently sexist and homophobic content, while punching-down on Don Dale detainees and asylum seekers.
In January 2019, Mr Potter shared a post showing an armed soldier apparently escorting a woman to safety that said: “Toxic Masculinity … because when the shit hits the fan, no one hides behind a feminist”.
A nonsensical 2013 post “gym memes” he shared depicted a large forklift asking a smaller one, “Do you even lift”? The small forklift replies, “Dad, I’m only 6”. The larger forklift responds, “I lift 50’s fa--ot”.
A meme he shared from “BroScience” said: “For all those girls that say, ‘all guys are the same’: Who told you to try them all? Hoe.”
Mr Potter also liked a comment on his Facebook page about female soldiers from an NT police officer, which said that there was “an obvious difference between being able to do the job and being able to do the job well/efficiently/effectively. Being able to complete a task, but taking twice as long as the soldier next to you to complete that task spells death in a combat environment,”.
The NT Independent reported that across six years between 2013 and 2019, Mr Potter shared posts from Sky News commentators and right-wing political pages such as “Rowdy Conservatives” and the “Australian Tea Party” attacking Labor policies and politicians.
Mr Potter also shared a link and wrote “Hahaha priceless” in response to a 2018 Sky News story about a man abusing former Victorian premier Dan Andrews.
In July 2014, to a link he shared from columnist Andrew Bolt supposedly showing fraud around Sri Lankan refugees, Mr Potter wrote: “Dear left wing friends of mine, enjoy the read”.
A post praising former Prime Minister Tony Abbot from conservative commentator Paul Murray was shared by Mr Potter and he also shared multiple posts between 2013 and 2019, criticising former Labor leader Bill Shorten, one of which said he had “no policies” and had overseen poor economic policy.
He praised Liberal MP and former ADF and SAS member Andrew Hastie.
In July 2016, after images showing mistreatment of detainees at Don Dale emerged, Mr Potter shared a link to Sky News’ Bolt Report that said: “To present this as the torture of an essentially harmless boy is unfair and untrue. Just going to leave this here,” he wrote.
Condemning the posts, Mr Finn noted that Mr Potter had just last week called out racism after disclosures at the inquest into the shooting death of Aboriginal teenager Kumunjai Walker.
“During this judicial process, our members have been held accountable for language used in private text messages and have apologised for their behaviour,” Mr Finn said.
“This has all been livestreamed to the public.”
“There is absolutely no excuse for racism, but there appears to be a different standard of accountability applied to Mr Potter. The defence of, and ongoing support for, Minister Potter by Chief Minister Eva Lawler also sends a damaging message about equality and integrity.”
Mr Potter has said he will not step-aside.
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