Federal election 2016: man charged over racist Nova Peris tirade

A man from NSW has been charged with allegedly posting an ­expletive-laden racist tirade on Nova Peris’s Facebook page.

Outgoing Northern Territory Labor Senator Nova Peris.

A 64-year-old man from the NSW Central Coast has been charged with allegedly posting an ­expletive-laden racist tirade on the Facebook page of outgoing Northern Territory Labor senator Nova Peris.

The man was arrested at a business on Victoria Road in Woy Woy yesterday and charged with using a carriage service to cause ­offence. The ABC reported he is chiropractor and ­osteopath Chris Nelson, who has denied the allegations, saying his account was hacked. He has been granted conditional bail to appear at Gosford Local Court on June 21.

Mr Nelson, who received community awards in his more than 20 years as a Rotarian, said he was horrified when he saw the comments. “I was clearly hacked,” he said yesterday. “I’m definitely not a racist. I’ve got friends who are Aboriginal and family who are Aboriginal­.”

A spokeswoman for the NSW Liberal Party told AAP the man had been expelled from the party.

Bill Shorten tweeted his support for Senator Peris: “Good on you Nova Peris for calling out racism. No place for these sorts of hateful attacks in this country.”

The Opposition Leader raised the issue of racism in a speech to mark Reconciliation Week on ­Friday night, saying that the ­“insidious nature of stubborn ­racism is still a reality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait ­Islander ­individuals, ­regardless of the ­status and stature they achieve”.

Senator Peris announced last week she would not recontest her seat. Labor announced its new nomination yesterday, preselecting a candidate who is expected to be unable to vote for herself to replace Senator Peris atop of the party’s Northern Territory senate ticket. Last night party sources said former NT Labor minister Malarndirri McCarthy, announced as the candidate after a national executive ballot, was not enrolled to vote in the Territory.

The Australian was told a special resolution had to be passed at the meeting to waive rules that would have prevented her running. A press conference scheduled for yesterday afternoon on the understanding an NT-based candidate would be chosen was postponed until today.

Ms McCarthy is understood to have been in Sydney when her selection was announced, where Labor colleagues said she had spent most time since losing her NT seat at the 2012 election. She could not be reached for comment.

A statement from Labor’s campaign headquarters praised her as a “proud Yanyuwa Garrawa woman from Borroloola in the Gulf country … Ms McCarthy has a strong record as an advocate for indigenous people.”

Reconciliation Australia chief executive Justin Mohamed backed Mr Shorten’s proposition that there is “systemic racism” in Australia even though “racism is not true of most Australians”, saying “goodwill” on the issue had yet to spread across society.

Additional reporting: AAP