Dutton and Albanese must justify candidates for past controversial remarks

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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has stood by a Liberal candidate who allegedly used derogatory terms about Indigenous Australians, only days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese headed off criticism of a Labor candidate over Nazi comparisons.

In the lead-up to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum in 2023, Fowler candidate Vivek Singha allegedly made a series of posts using a derogatory term for Indigenous Australians.

The Coalition hopes to win the crucial western Sydney seat of Fowler — once a safe Labor seat — after it was captured by independent MP Dai Le in 2022.

“50K per a–, already being spent, they’ll want 500K per head,” one post read, according to ABC News.

Some posts on the now-inactive account also criticised Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek after it was reported her daughter had experienced domestic violence at the hands of a former partner.

Singha has since apologised for the posts.

On Monday, when asked about the Liberal candidates’ comments, Dutton said they were “inappropriate and shouldn’t have been made”.

“He [Singha] has apologised for the comments and so he should have,” he told reporters.

But Dutton said he would not take “a lecture from the prime minister” over the issue, due to Labor accepting Greens preferences.

“This is an antisemitic, Jew-hating party,” Dutton said, referring to the Greens.

“They have been involved in all sorts of horrible doxxing and comments online that are repugnant but not repudiated by the prime minister.”

Adam Bandt responds to Dutton’s comments

During an interview with Seven News later on Monday, Greens leader Adam Bandt responded to Dutton’s characterisation of the party as antisemitic.

“I’m not going to take lectures from someone who has made a career out of punching down and hurting marginalised communities in an attempt to win votes, because that’s what Peter Dutton has done, and he continues to do it to this day,” Bandt replied when asked about the Opposition leader’s remarks.

Greens leader Adamn Bandt said Peter Dutton had “made a career out of punching down and hurting marginalised communities”. Source: AAP / Jason O’Brien

“We have been crystal clear. Australia is a multicultural society. We have always opposed antisemitism, Islamophobia, any form of racism. But we’ve also said clearly, look, armies have got to stop killing children. We are seeing a slaughter in Gaza. And we’re just saying, really simply, that the bombing has to stop.”

Albanese backs Dutton challenger after Nazi tweet controversy

On Monday, Dutton also described “appalling” behaviour from Labor candidates, including Ali France in his seat of Dickson, which is .

Similarly, the prime minister staunchly defended Labor’s candidate in Dickson in the wake of old tweets depicting Dutton as a Nazi.

France came under fire over the old posts, which were published before her candidacy. They included resharing a doctored image of Dutton and then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in Nazi uniforms.

Albanese refused to criticise France for the posts and flipped the script on the reporters, stating many people have posts they regret.

“I don’t know what your tweets are like more than a decade ago or what have you. But people are going and attacking Ali France as they did during the last campaign,” he said at a press conference in Western Australia last week.

A woman in a pink jacket in focus, with a man in a suit in the background.

Labor candidate Ali France has been backed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese despite the resurfacing of controversial social media posts. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

France, who has a disability, also suggested the Coalition was planning cuts to essential National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support to pay for AUKUS submarines.

“What he’s saying here is that disabled people should fund the AUKUS submarines by going without essential supports. And some say he’s not a monster,” she wrote above a picture of Dutton.

Among the resurfaced posts was one branding Israel an “openly racist apartheid regime”, dating back to December 2016.

Albanese has stood by France, praising the Labor candidate as an “extraordinary Australian”.

“What I know about Ali France as a person today is that she is an outstanding human being, she’s someone who has overcome extraordinary adversity during this time while she’s been a candidate, the loss of her son, and has overcome tragedy,” Albanese said.

“It would be a really good idea if people recognised that Ali France is someone who has shown courage, who has overcome adversity, is putting herself forward … for the third time to look after the local community that she loves, that she won’t leave in a time of crisis, that she will look after.”

Dutton condemned Albanese’s endorsement of France on The Briefing podcast, suggesting it trashes the prime minister’s credibility.

On France, he said it followed a “pattern of conduct for a long period of time” that made her unfit for office.

France has since issued a statement saying: “I should have chosen my words more carefully in the past.”

“But I have always felt extremely passionately about the Liberals’ systemic dismantling of the NDIS.

“I want to see peace and believe in a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security.”

France first ran in 2019 and tightened the race in the last election, gaining a 2.94 per cent swing that resulted in Labor achieving a two-party preferred vote of 48.3 per cent after preferences.

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