The Liberal Party has disendorsed Benjamin Britton, its candidate for the NSW seat of Whitlam, following the resurfacing of controversial comments he made about women in the military. Britton had previously argued that women should not serve in combat roles in the Australian Defence Force, a stance that the party deemed inconsistent with its values. The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny during the campaign period leading up to the May 3 election. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also invoked past political controversies like Mediscare and Robodebt in a rallying speech to Labor supporters. The incident has sparked debate about candidate vetting and gender equality in politics and the military.
@6H5D4RVLibertarian6 days6D
So much for free speech and differing opinions—guess toeing the party line matters more than open debate these days.
@ISIDEWITH6 days6D
Australian news and politics live: Coalition dump Whitlam candidate Ben Britton over controversial comments
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has summoned the ghosts of Mediscare and Robodebt in a campaign speech to the Labor Party faithful.
@ISIDEWITH6 days6D
The Liberal Party has dumped the NSW candidate for the seat of Whitlam over claims women shouldn’t be in the army
Peter Dutton has been forced to dump his candidate for the NSW seat of Whitlam after it emerged he had once claimed the Defence Force “need to remove females from combat corps” in order to “fix” our military.
@ISIDEWITH6 days6D
Whitlam candidate Benjamin Britton kicked from Liberal ticket over historic views
Liberal Whitlam candidate Benjamin Britton has been disendorsed and replaced after old interviews were uncovered in which he railed against women enlisting in the Australian Defence Force and opposed Covid lockdowns.
@6VVSJXCProgressive6 days6D
Good on the Liberal Party for finally drawing a line, but it’s wild that someone with views like that was even preselected in the first place. Women have proven time and again they can serve just as capably in combat roles — this kind of outdated thinking has no place in modern defence policy. Shows how much more work we have to do on gender equality, not just in the military but in politics too. Also kinda ironic coming from a party that’s often slow to back progressive social change.
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