Far-right ringleader Neil Erikson was one of three extremists who attended a “conservative recruitment event” for the Liberal National party at a private residence on the Gold Coast last year.

Erikson, who claims someone else paid for his flights from Melbourne to attend the event, is one of the founders of the anti-Islam United Patriots Front and has been convicted for inciting contempt against Muslims after he staged a mock beheading of a mannequin.

An email seen by Guardian Australia describes the event as an “conservative recruitment event” for the Queensland-based Liberal National party, which was held in early June 2018.

Erikson flew from Melbourne to Brisbane for the function, which was also attended by fellow members of the far-right Scott Moerland and Ricky Turner. Moerland is now running as a Queensland candidate for Fraser Anning’s Conservative National party.

Anning came under fire earlier this year when he billed taxpayers to attend a far right rally in St Kilda alongside Erikson and fellow founder of the United Patriots Front Blair Cottrell.

Guest speakers at the Queensland recruitment drive included David Goodwin – a former LNP Senate candidate and former president of the Young Nationals and the Young LNP – and Victorian conservative Elliot Watson.

At the function, which is understood to have been held at a private residence, Goodwin and Watson both spoke about the need to recruit more conservatives into the party.

Watson, who is reportedly one of a number of Mormons appointed as party delegates in the Victorian Liberal Party, is credited with playing a “leading role” in recruiting conservatives to the Victorian branch of the party.

The Victorian branch of the party has been riven by factional divisions, amid claims that an insurgent group led by hardliner Marcus Bastiaan is pushing the Liberals too far to the right.

Membership forms for the LNP were available to attendees at the Gold Coast event, but both Erikson and a Liberal source who attended say he was not asked to join the party.

A Liberal attendee at the event confirmed that Goodwin spoke to Erikson about his conviction for his anti-Islam protest, but said the three men were “out of place” at the event, which was attended by at least 40 people, of which about five were LNP members.

“I am not sure who invited them, and I am not sure why they were there,” the source said, saying most of the people invited had shared “family values”. The group are also understood to have prayed together.

A spokesman for the party said it was not an official LNP event.

“All members of the LNP are encouraged to promote membership and encourage others to join the party,” he said.

“However, there are strict rules around how this is done, including that members must not pay the fees of anyone who is not a family member, and must not damage the party or bring it into disrepute.”

Erikson has claimed on social media that he wants to damage the Liberal party because he believes the Coalition is responsible for shutting down the Facebook pages of members of the far right in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.

On Tuesday, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie was forced to deny he had met Erikson, after his colleague Ian Goodenough claimed that they had spoken to him at a meeting in support of white South African farmers held in Perth last year.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said the party was “riddled with far right extremists” after two Victorian candidates stood down from the party for anti Muslim and homophobic social media posts.