UAP hopeful Jefferson Earl backs Putin on Ukraine

A United Australia Party candidate has claimed Western nations would be to blame if Russia invaded Ukraine.

Leader of the United Australia Party Clive Palmer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

A United Australia Party candidate has described himself as a supporter of Vladimir Putin and claimed Western nations would be to blame if Russia invaded Ukraine.

Jefferson Earl, the UAP candidate for the Melbourne seat of Macnamara, said he had supported Mr Putin for “many years” and claimed the West was targeting Russia to distract from the “failed” plan to combat Covid-19.

“The US is causing this instability,” Mr Earl tweeted.

He has used Twitter to repeatedly defend Russia and even tried to directly engage with the Russian President’s account.

“President Putin. I have supported u (sic) for many years,” Mr Earl tweeted.

“I am the endorsed candidate for the seat of Macnamara in Melbourne Australia for the United Australia Party.

“Is there any truth to what the media is saying? Is Ukrainian ok (sic)? I feel like Russia wants peace correct?”

In a separate tweet, Mr Earl said a power balance was needed between the US and Russia to maintain world peace.

“If Russia invaded Ukraine maybe it will be because it was forced to defend herself,” Mr Earl wrote.

“Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) must be left in order so that no superpower has a serious upper advantage.”

Mr Earl also tweeted that “Australia should be good friends with Russia”.

“As soon as the pandemic narrative begins to lose power we see a ramp up of the rhetoric against Russia,” he tweeted. “Why? Because it is the beat (sic) way to hide what is happening on the ground world wide medically.

“The (vaccine) plan had failed and is causing and will cause great pain in the future.”

Labor MP Josh Burns, who represents the seat of Macnamara, said Mr Earl’s stance “defies Australia’s national security interest and is a grave insult to the people of Ukraine”.

“Regrettably, this is on brand for the UAP. The United Australia Party Leader, Craig Kelly, previously hosted a self-described Russian agent in the parliament,” Mr Burns said.

He said Scott Morrison should condemn the comments and rule out a preference deal with UAP.

“We know Mr Morrison and Clive Palmer are political mates and that Mr Morrison has depended on Clive Palmer to get elected, but he has to put Australia and our allies ahead of his short-term political interests,” Mr Burns said.

When contacted by The Australian, Mr Earl said he believed Mr Putin was trying to preserve global peace and that his concerns “had a point” because the US had missiles in Poland.

“It has nothing to do with Craig Kelly, it is an independent comment,” he said.

In February, Mr Kelly escorted pro-Putin Sydney man Simeon Boikov – who once described Australia as an “enemy state” – around parliament.