Queensland candidate expelled for racism
Peter Watson has been expelled from the Australia Labor Party because of his racist and homophobic views.The 19-yr-old was scheduled to contest the seat of Southern Downs for Labor in the upcoming Queensland State election.
Media reports state that he defended the right to be racist and that he had claimed the Jews were responsible for the deaths of millions of people.
Queensland premier Anna Bligh told media that “this man is not only someone who has extremist views but also someone who lied about those views”.
A spokesperson for the Queensland branch of the ALP said: “Labor will not tolerate these types of extreme views. There is no place in the Australian Labor Party for people who contain these views.
When Peter Watson was endorsed as the candidate for Southern Downs late last year, we were unaware of his extreme and unacceptable opinions.
Late yesterday, Peter Watson maintained to party officials the allegations against him were false.
Now he has admitted to being the author of this material, the Party has acted swiftly in response.
These views have no= place in the Australian Labor Party, and this morning the Officers of the Party have= expelled Peter Watson.
We look forward to announcing a new Labor candidate for this seat as soon as we can, to provide a local voice for Labor voters on the Southern Downs.”
