Anthony Albanese has staunchly defended Labor’s candidate for the Opposition Leader’s ultra-marginal seat of Dickson despite disturbing social media posts resurfacing.
The Prime Minister threw his support around Ali France on Thursday in the wake of reports she previously shared content online depicting Peter Dutton in a Nazi unform.
Mr Albanese declined to criticise Ms France for her posts, instead describing her as an “outstanding human being” who has repeatedly faced campaign attacks due to her disability.
“Look, people will go after people’s history going back to more than decade,” he said at a press conference in Western Australia.
“During the last campaign, Ali France was attacked for ‘using her disability’ as an excuse for why she lived in the home that she lived in.
“Ali France is someone who lost her leg saving her child’s life when she pushed a pram forward and was hit by a motor vehicle. Ali France is an extraordinary Australian.”
Mr Albanese then attempted to turn the spotlight back onto reporters and their social media content, before spruiking Ms France’s election credentials.
Ms France is making a third attempt at unseating Mr Dutton in his Brisbane north-west seat he holds with a margin of just 1.7 per cent.
“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,” the Prime Minister said.
“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.
“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.
“She’s contesting Dickson, I wish her well and everyone I know who’s had contact with Ali France over a long period of time has been supportive of her.”
Earlier in the day, news.com.au reported that Ms France had retweeted a post in March 2017 which was captioned “it’s getting grim at Lib HQ”.
The post contained doctored images of then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mr Dutton in Nazi uniforms accompanied by text which read “Trumble: The downfall”.
Ms France also reportedly posted a story two years ago with the claim the Coalition was going to pay for AUKUS submarines through cuts to the NDIS.
“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 said above a picture of Mr Dutton.
Another post Ms France reportedly retweeted, from December 2016, described Israel as an “openly racist apartheid regime”.
Ms France told news.com.au that she “should have chosen my words more carefully in the past”.
“But I have always felt extremely passionately about the Liberals’ systematic dismantling of the NDIS,” she said.
“I want to see peace and believe in a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security.”
Mr Dutton, asked at a press conference on Thursday about the resurfaced social media posts, in particular the remark about him being a monster, said: “I haven’t seen the comments”.
