Federal election 2016: cold shoulder for Fremantle candidate

Malcolm Turnbull campaigned in the socially progressive WA electorate of Fremantle yesterday without his party’s candidate.

Malcolm Turnbull tours the Austral shipbuilding site south of Perth with David Singleton, left, and senator Linda Reynolds yesterday. Picture: The Guardian

Malcolm Turnbull campaigned in Fremantle yesterday without his party’s candidate after it emerged the former Liberal staffer opposes gay marriage and is a critic of the Australian parliament’s apology to the Stolen Generations.

The Prime Minister was not joined by West Australian Premier Colin Barnett either; the state Liberal leader is effectively at war with the federal government over state’s poor share of GST and is considered campaign poison after a Newspoll last week that showed state Labor surging further ahead.

Yesterday Mr Turnbull was forced to distance himself from the views of Sherry Sufi, the Liberal’s endorsed candidate for the socially progressive Labor-held seat in Perth’s south, after reports Mr Sufi had mused online that same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy.

In postings since deleted on the conservative website Menzies House, Mr Sufi also reportedly ­explained his opposition to the constitutional recognition of indigenous people by saying those ­associated with the Recognise campaign thrived on a mindset of victimhood.

Fremantle is traditionally a Labor seat but has a growing Green vote. It has been held since 2007 by a hero of the broad Left, Melissa Parke, a former UN lawyer who has broken ranks with her party on asylum-boat turnbacks and offshore processing.

Ms Parke retires with a margin of 5.4 per cent, making Fremantle one of just four seats in WA with a margin of less than 6 per cent.

Bill Shorten seized on the disapproving response to Mr Sufi’s reported postings, calling him “another knuckle-dragger from the far Right”.

He said Mr Sufi’s comments were proof the Liberal Party was divided.

Asked where his candidate was, Mr Turnbull replied: “I hope he’s engaging with the people of ­Fremantle and doing some good door-knocking. It’s very character-building, I’ve done it myself.”

Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese was also in Perth yesterday with the party’s new Fremantle candidate, Josh Wilson, after Labor dropped its initial candidate Chris Brown over his failure to disclose criminal convictions from the 1980s.

Mr Albanese said Mr Sufi’s views did not belong in a party governing Australia.

“One of the problems with the modern Liberal Party is that it has a leader who actually, to be absolutely fair to him, has very different views on reconciliation, on climate change, on a republic, on public transport — but the problem here is that he can’t actually say them ­because he is at war with Tony ­Abbott,” Mr Albanese said.

“He can’t actually be true to himself.”