Federal election 2019: Liberal candidate quits after advocating against more gay MPs being elected

Updated

Former Liberal candidate Peter Killin has resigned after it was revealed that he had encouraged conservative Christians to "infiltrate" the Liberal Party to stop gay people from being elected to office and party positions.

Key points: Peter Killin suggested conservatives "infiltrate" the Liberal Party to stop gay people from being elected

He made the comments in blog posts following the preselection of prominent gay MP Tim Wilson

Mr Killin quit just hours after his comments were made public

He is the second Victorian Liberal candidate to go in the space of just hours after Jeremy Hearn was disendorsed as the candidate for Isaacs this morning.

Peter Killin was preselected just days before the ballot draw for the inner-Melbourne seat of Wills, which is currently held by Labor.

The biggest threat to sitting MP Peter Khalil is the Greens, in a seat once held by Bob Hawke.

In comments on a conservative blog regarding the Liberals' state election defeat, Mr Killin argued with others that the way to change politics is by joining a party.

"My suggestion is to change a party from within: 1. Infiltrate 2. Influence 3. Impel. Pray and Do," he wrote last December.

He followed up with a comment about the preselection of now Goldstein Liberal MP Tim Wilson, a prominent voice in the party, who won his preselection by the smallest of margins in a crowd of up to 400 preselectors.

"ONE LOUSY VOTE! So, if you and I were there to participate in preselection the result = no homosexual MP. Thats [sic] what grass roots is — you and me — not someone else! You and me brother," he wrote.

In a social media post, he also talked about removing "termites" from the Liberal Party and bringing the "Godly god" into it.

"In the medium to long term; however, we need to displace the bad people in the party with the good people — it is clear; the enemy is also within the party," he wrote on Facebook.

In a submission to the federal government's inquiry on religious freedom, Mr Killin endorsed the views of Presbyterian pastor Campbell Markham, who wrote in 2011 that the "homosexual lifestyle" was "distressingly dangerous" and had "appalling health risks".

"Markham's is a Biblical perspective backed up by current medical science. It was written on a Christian Church blog, it is a statement of fact,'' he said.

The comments are readily available online and Liberal sources have questioned the party's vetting process.

'It's strange to think he harbours so much hatred to me'

Mr Wilson told the ABC that he was culturally Anglican and that he had learnt as a young boy to turn the other cheek and leave judgement to others.

"I've been absolutely consistent from preselection to election to seeking re-election that I'm a forward-looking, modern Liberal proudly representing a forward-looking modern liberal community, and that won't change," he said.

The Greens candidate for Wills, Adam Pulford, is a gay rights campaigner.

"I've been standing next to Peter Killin at pre-poll today. It's strange to think he harbours so much hatred to me, just because of who I am," Mr Pulford said on Twitter.

"Peter Killin wants to keep people like me out of parliament just because of who I love but I think we actually need to keep people like him out of parliament because he wants to use public office and his platform to divide us," he told the ABC.

Mr Pulford called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to denounce his candidate's views.

Speaking to reporters before Mr Killin resigned, Mr Morrison said Tim Wilson was an "outstanding member of parliament" and he would allow the party to follow its processes.

Mr Morrison said social media represents "new challenges in the vetting of candidates".

In recent years the Victorian Liberal branch has been rocked by a surge in the number of Christian conservatives joining the group.

Recruiters have targeted groups including Mormons and anti-Safe Schools campaigners.

Members of conservative parties, including Family First and Australian Christians have also been recruited.

The "lurch to the right" has worried many long-term Liberal Party members in Victoria, who are concerned it will make the party unelectable, especially in the progressive state.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-elections, federal-election, elections, community-and-society, lgbt, religion-and-beliefs, vic, brunswick-3056, australia

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