The major parties are standing by the two latest candidates in hot water for offensive social media posts attributed to them after a flurry of resignations overshadowed the third week of campaigning.
Speaking in Tasmania on Thursday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said he would stand by the Liberal candidate for the seat of Lyons, Jessica Whelan, who has denied making derogatory online comments about Muslims.
Whelan has disavowed comments posted online under her name, including one that suggested female supporters of Islam should be mutilated, claiming they were not made by her, and must have been digitally altered. Morrison said the Australian federal police would be asked to investigate.
“The imagery that we have found, that has been presented to us, appears to have been doctored,” Morrison said, campaigning in Launceston. “I don’t think it’s hard to believe in this day and age that images can be doctored.
“This is a matter that will be subject to an investigation.”
The deputy Labor leader, Tanya Plibersek, who was campaigning with Bill Shorten in northern Tasmania, called on Morrison to sack Whelan.
However, Labor, too, was standing by its candidate for the Greens-held seat of Melbourne, Luke Creasey, who was already under pressure for Facebook posts from 2012 in which he made rape jokes and shared pornographic material.
On Thursday more social media posts emerged in which he made lewd remarks about lesbians and female genitalia.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Creasey apologised for the posts, but resisted calls to step aside.
“They were stupid, immature and in no way reflect the views I hold today,” Creasey said. “I apologise for these posts, which have been removed.
“My focus remains on making sure we elect a Shorten Labor government and restore funding to our schools and hospitals.”
The Greens MP Adam Bandt, who faces a challenge from Labor in the seat, has called for the Labor party to sack Creasey.
The campaigns of both major parties have been overshadowed by candidate troubles this week, with the Liberals forced to sack Hearn for his anti-Muslim remarks, while another Liberal, Peter Killin, quit after making homophobic remarks about sitting MP Tim Wilson.
Labor’s Northern Territory Senate candidate Wayne Kurnorth resigned on Monday, after it was revealed he had shared antisemitic videos on Facebook of the conspiracy theorist David Icke claiming that Jewish people can shape-shift into giant lizards.
Morrison has said the vetting of candidates had been “not up to standard” at this election, saying the party administration was responsible for the process.
“Look, in election campaigns, these individuals we identified, they’ve been identified in a number of parties and they need to be dealt with swiftly and appropriately and that’s the action we are taking.”
