Politics
Liberal Candidates ‘Slipping the Net’ on Social Media
Liberal candidates ‘slip the net’ in party vetting procedures while Religious Discrimination Bill threatens to undermine AHPRA’s ability to govern medical practitioners.
Comments made on social-media by registered medical practitioners are often held to a higher standard than religious leaders or even our own elected officials. However, the Morrison Government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill will result in special exceptions being made that will undermine those standards.
In 2019 the Victorian Liberal candidate for the seat of Wills, Peter Killin, resigned under controversy for encouraging conservative Christians online to ‘infiltrate’ the Liberal party in order to prevent gay people from being elected to office and party positions, at one stage reffering to senior colleague in the party Tim Wilson as a ‘notorious homosexual’.
Peter Killin.
Peter Killin’s resignation came just hours after Jeremy Hearn, fellow Liberal party candidate for the seat of Isaacs, was dumped for an anti-Muslim speech he had posted on Facebook in 2018.
In response to the resignation of both candidates, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that social media represented a ‘new challenge’ for the vetting of potential candidates.
“For the Liberal Party in this day and age, when there is social media and multiple postings and all these sorts of things, that obviously presents new challenges in the vetting of candidates, and this is something I certainly expect the party to be working on and improving their processes.”
When asked whether the Liberal Party had bothered to internet search the background of either candidate during the vetting process, campaign spokesperson Simon Birmingham stated that they had both somehow managed to ‘slip the net’.
“I know that a lot of work is done in the vast majority of cases to check on candidates for preselection. Clearly something has slipped the net. But once [a concern is] identified, we have acted in less than 24 hours.”
Before his resignation, Peter Killin also apologised for comments he had made in a submission to the 2018 Ruddock Religious Freedom Review, specifically reffering to a blog written by Tasmanian Pastor Campbell Markham titled ‘The Tragic Health Risks Of The Homosexual Lifestyle’. *
“The dangers and health risks have been well documented in many reliable medical sources for years. Markham’s is a Biblical perspective backed up by current medical science. It was written on a Christian church blog, it is a statement of fact.” said Killin.
Although Peter Killin was forced to apologise and subsequently resigned for comments such as these, he may not be the only candidate who managed to ‘slip the net’ during the vetting process.
Campbell Markham is not only the Pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, but is also married to Amanda-Sue Markham, a registered nurse, Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz staffer, and former Liberal Party candidate herself.
In 2001 Amanda-Sue Markham ran for an elected position in WA for the Christian Democrat Party, but later changed her allegiance to the Liberal Party in 2012.
After relocating to Tasmania, Amanda-Sue Markham ran against Martine Delaney for the seat of Franklin in 2016, and later she ran for the seat of Clark against Andrew Wilkie in 2019.
However, during her 2016 campaign it was revealed by The Mercury that Amanda-Sue Markham had been repeatedly referring to herself as a ‘nurse’ on social media for political benefit whilst not actually being registered at the time, having left the profession two years earlier.
“This has been enough for The Mercury to be contacted by more than one person with a medical background to raise concerns about her use of the term nurse,” said journalist Blair Richards.
“The register of medical practitioners is public and Mrs Markham is not on it. Medical titles are protected under Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.”
“If you are not on the register, you are not allowed to use a title regardless of your qualifications or years of service. The Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency says a fine of $30,000 can be incurred by a person improperly using a title.”
Amanda-Sue Markham subsequently re-registered herself shortly after, although according to The Mercury Eric Abetz had personally ‘leapt’ to Mrs Markham’s defense at the time, claiming he still referred to himself as a lawyer despite no longer holding a practicing certificate.
This was followed up in an article by The Sydney Morning Herald, which not only covered Amanda-Sue Markham’s nursing registration issues but also highlighted her promotion of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church.
“Ms Markham – who promotes Hobart’s Cornerstone Church alongside her Pastor husband Campbell Markham – has refused to say if she shares her husband’s views on same-sex marriage, gay parenting, ‘fornicators’, pornography and whether a wife should “submit” to her husband.”
“Asked whether she was pro-choice and if abortion should be legal, Ms Markham said only ‘I am a Christian and my views are well known’.”
“And it is her husband’s views, set out in his book Who Should I Marry and elsewhere, that are arguably even more extreme. Mr Markham has written, for example, that gay marriage is immoral and assistance to gay couples to conceive a child breaches the 1990 UN convention on the Rights of the Child.”
The article concluded by noting Amanda-Sue Markham had ‘declined’ to say if she shared her husband’s views at the time, stating “I am more than capable of forming my own views and my views are well known.”
Although not a medical practitioner himself, Pastor Campbell Markham claims that it was a ‘Hobart GP’ who personally presented him with the material outlined in his 2011 blog ‘The Tragic Health Risks Of The Homosexual Lifestyle’.
In his blog, Campbell Markham stated that “a Hobart GP sketched this overview of the health risks associated with the homosexual lifestyle. Legalising ‘homosexual marriage’ will of course have the effect of normalizing this unnatural and tragically dangerous lifestyle.”
In 2017, during an interview with Andrew Bolt on Sky News, Campbell Markham once again credited this anonymous ‘Hobart doctor’ as his primary source of information.
“I have a doctor, he’s a GP in Hobart, and he did quite a bit of research into this matter. He imparted the information to me, and I thought it was important enough to share on my blog for people in my church to read, and any others who wanted to come and read that, because I think if we’re going to really promote this kind of lifestyle then people need to be aware of the dangers of that. Reduced life expectancy for example is one danger. There’s a number of things that are written on that post that were explained to me by my doctor friend in Hobart.”
According to Campbell Markham and his ‘doctor friend’, gay adolescents are “twice as likely to have been physically abused, and nearly six times more likely to have been sexually abused,” concluding this was “in itself a contributing factor to the start of homosexual behaviour.
Treating homosexuality as a serious health risk, like smoking or drinking alcohol, was also suggested to the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) by Peter Killin in a submission to the public consultation on good medical practice in 2018.
In other blogs such as ‘Homosexual Parenting, right or wrong?’, ‘Surrogacy and Slavery’ and ‘Same-sex ‘marriage’ and the Stolen Generation’, Campbell Markham compares children raised by gay parents to the Stolen Generation, and gay parents themselves to slave owners in the United States. *
In a book review for David van Gend’s ‘Stealing From A Child – The Injustice of Marriage Equality’, Campbell Markham refers to same-sex marriage as a ‘cult’, comparing marriage equality to The Church Of Scientology, both of which he described as a “brand of Gnosticism for rich twenty-first century Westerners with too much time on their hands.”
David Van Gend and Eric Abetz at Australian Marriage Forum 2016.
Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz gave a speech endorsing ‘Stealing From A Child’ at an event hosted by the Australian Marriage Forum in 2016, where he thanked David van Gend for the ‘privilege’ of launching his book which he described as both ‘scholarly’ and a ‘labor of love’. **
David van Gend is not only the president of the Australian Marriage Forum, he is also a registered medical practitioner and GP based in Toowoomba, Queensland.
In 2015 David van Gend appeared as a ‘family doctor’ in a video advertisment published by the Australian Marriage Forum which attempted to link former prime minister Julia Gillard’s apology to the victims of the Stolen Generation to children raised by same-sex couples.
In 2018 Dr van Gend was investigated by AHPRA for “presenting as a medical practitioner and providing information that is ‘clearly not medically, psychologically, nor scientifically based’ and not promoting public health.”
This complaint, which focussed on comments made by Lyle Shelton that were re-tweeted by Dr van Gend, was ultimately dismissed by AHPRA who concluded that the content of these tweets alone were not enough to breach their standards.
David van Gend had recently been considered to be one of the 2020 frontrunners during the LNP preselection for the federal seat of Groom in Queensland’s Darling Downs, but lost the candidacy after members of the party instead voted to elect mining engineer Garth Hamilton as their candidate for the seat last October
According to Acting LNP president Cynthia Hardy, all of the candidates had been vetted by the party, including Dr van Gend.
Dr van Gend had reportedly been endorsed by senators Eric Abetz and Matt Canavan, as well as conservative news commentators Rowan Dean and Miranda Devine, in a booklet that had been distributed to party members ahead of the vote.
Miranda Devine described David van Gend on Twitter as a “compassionate Toowoomba GP and faithful Catholic,” adding “He does not advocate gay conversion therapy. Such a lie.”
Miranda Devine, LNP Pamphlet, 2020.
During a speech given at the Coalition for Marriage Tasmania forum in 2017, Pastor Campbell Markham claimed that “Christian doctors who speak their mind are now threatened with de-registration,” and stated there would be a “flood of de-registrations and prosecutions” as a result of same-sex marriage in Australia.
However, a submission to the The Morrison government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) made an important point about social media use for registered doctors and nurses.
The AMA noted that, according to guidelines developed by AHPRA for registered health practitioners, doctors should be mindful when using social media, even in a privately, as the Medical Board could consider such use if it raises concerns over a doctor’s fitness to hold registration.
“Where relevant, National Boards may consider social media use in your private life (even where there is no identifiable link to you as a registered health practitioner) if it raises concerns about your fitness to hold registration. While you may think you are engaging in social media in a private capacity because you do not state you are a registered practitioner, it is relatively easy and simple for anyone to check your status through the register, or make connections using available pieces of information.”
According to the AMA’s own guidelines, no matter what happens privately, a doctor is always a doctor, and they need to consider how they present themselves to the public as their professional character may be judged by the way they conduct themselves online.
Amanda-Sue Markham, 2016. Image: Facebook.
Currently, a doctor could be subject to a notification were they to breach these standards. Under the Bill however, a doctor would be protected from disciplinary actions such as dismissal, even if they breach these professional standards, effectively making the rules set out by AHPRA and the Medical Board secondary to the Bill.
In their own submission to the government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill, the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation (ANMF) raised similar concerns that the Bill would undermine the independence of ‘qualifying bodies’ such as AHPRA, and the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).
“The NMBA code obliges a nurse or midwife to promote health and wellbeing for the broader community at all times, including outside of work. A nurse’s religion may hold that a section of the broader community are sinners by virtue of their sexuality or something analogous. There is a likelihood that such nurse[s] will not uphold their obligations to promote health and wellbeing to the broader community. For example, they may make statements of belief on their own time on social media that such people were sinners who were going to hell.”
On the 8th of May 2019, during an interview with Leyon Compton from ABC Radio, Amanda-Sue Markham was asked about the high proportion of Liberal Party candidates who had been disqualified over the course of the campaign.
Peter Killin (who publicly resigned only a week before Mrs Markham’s interview) was one of at least ten Liberal candidates who had either resigned or were disendorsed by the party since the start of the campaign, with several candidates being similarly disqualified for inappropriate or offensive comments they had made on social media. ***
Scott Morrison & Amanda-Sue Markham, 2019. Image: Facebook.
Mrs Markham denied accusations that long-time voters for the Liberal Party would be “shaking their heads in shame” over this, nor did she agree that it was an indicator that the Party had become more attractive towards racists and bigots.
“On both sides candidates have stepped down for various reasons,” she noted.
When asked what the Cornerstone Presbyterian Church teaches about homosexuality, Amanda-Sue Markham simply stated:
“The basis of Christianity is that we’re all sinners, that we’re all sinful people, and that’s a fundamental teaching of Christianity. It’s not specific to any one group of people, it’s just the foundation of Christianity.”
Leon Compton repeated the same question two more times in a row, pressing Mrs Markham to confirm whether or not her church believed gay people went to Heaven or Hell.
“It’s inaccurate to actually even frame the question that way,” she said, “Because quite simply the Gospel says that… all of us are in a position where we need forgiveness from God. All of us. That’s what the Gospel says, and the good news is that Jesus died to forgive those sins.”
“As I said before… I include myself in that we are all sinful people. We aren’t perfect, and I think the most important part of Christianity is actually admitting that we’re not perfect and in need of forgiveness from God.”
“That’s really all I can say on that, Leon. It’s a pretty basic message, and I suppose it does take a little bit of… soul searching and delving into it to really come to grips with that.”
“And so if anyone really wants to apply themselves to it, and think through it, I’m more than happy to have a chat to them,” she concluded.
About the author: In 2017 Sam Mazur was involved in an anti-discrimination complaint against Hobart street-preacher David Gee and Pastor Campbell Markham of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. Sam has an interest in paranormal and supernatural claims and conspiracy theories, as well as alternative spiritual beliefs, cults and con-artists. Whilst not himself a believer, Sam promotes critical-thinking and general awareness towards these subjects within the community.
References
[1]. Religious freedom laws are essential – The Advocate, 8 May 2020.
Link: https://www.theadvocate.com.
b>[2]. Federal election 2019: Liberal candidate quits after advocating against more gay MPs being elected – ABC News, 1 May 2019.
Link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/
[3]. Liberal candidate Peter Killin quits over ‘dangerous’ gay lifestyle comments – The Herald Sun, 1 May 2019.
Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=
[4]. Liberal Party makes promise on candidate vetting after racism, homophobia – The NewDaily, 1 May 2019.
Link: https://thenewdaily.com.au/
[5]. Submission to Religious Freedom Review – Peter Killin, 2018.
Link: https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/
[6]. Liberal Franklin candidate Amanda-Sue Markham maintains ‘nurse’ description – The Mercury, 23 June 2016.
Link: https://www.themercury.com.au/
[7]. Talking Point: Nursing a desire to join cut and thrust of a political campaign – The Mercury, 29 June 2016.
Link: https://www.themercury.com.au/
[8]. Election 2016: Liberal a former Christian Democrat with hardline abortion stance – The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 June 2016.
Link: https://www.smh.com.au/
[9]. Campbell Markham on The Bolt Report – Sky News, 2017.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/
[10]. Letter to Medical Board of Australia – Peter Killin, 2018.
Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=
[11]. Book Review: Stealing from a Child by David van Gend – Campbell Markham, 1October 2016.
Link: http://campbellmarkham1970.
[12]. An outstanding resource for the fight for marriage’ – Campbell Markham, Mercatornet, 30 September 2016.
Link: https://mercatornet.com/an-
[13]. Address to the Launch of Stealing from a Child – the Injustice of ‘Marriage Equality’ by David van Gend, Hobart – Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz, 2016.
Link: https://abetz.com.au/speeches/
[14]. AHPRA action an ‘attack on free speech’ – The Medical Republic, 8 August 2018.
Link: http://medicalrepublic.com.au/
[15]. ‘All the right causes’: Miranda Devine and Coalition senators back extreme Queensland candidate – The Guardian, 21 October 2020.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/
[16]. Party plays down van Gend issues – The Chronicle, 22 October 2020.
Link: https://www.pressreader.com/
[17]. Marriage equality opponent David van Gend among frontrunners for Groom LNP preselection – ABC, 22 October 2020.
Link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/
[18]. Redefining Marriage: Consequences and Casualties – Campbell Markham, Coalition for Marriage Tasmania, 2017.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
[19]. AMA Submission on the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill, 2019.
Link: https://www.ag.gov.au/
[20]. ANMF Submission the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill, 2019.
Link: https://www.ag.gov.au/
[21]. Liberal candidate Gurpal Singh dumped after comments about rape emerge – The Guardian, 9 May 2019.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/
[22]. Clark electorate candidates forum – ABC Radio, 10 May 2019.
Link: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/
These blogs were removed by Pastor Markham in May, 2020. Screenshots have been provided below:
Above:‘The tragic health risks of the homosexual lifestyle’ – by Campbell Markham, 2011.
Above:‘Homosexual parenting, right or wrong?’ – by Campbell Markham, 2012.
Above:‘Surrogacy and Slavery’ – by Campbell Markham, 2012.
Above: ‘Same-sex ‘marriage’ and the Stolen Generation’ – by Campbell Markham, 2011.
Above:‘Book Review: Stealing from a Child by David van Gend’ – by Campbell Markham, 2016.
[**].
Senator Eric Abetz stated several times throughout his speech that the true aim of marriage equality was the deconstruction of the nuclear family as part of a hidden Marxist agenda:
– “When advocates for marriage point out that the deconstruction of marriage through so-called same-sex marriage will have further consequences such as the adoption of the highly unsafe ‘Safe Schools Programme’, which tells us boys aren’t necessarily boys and girls aren’t necessarily girls so let’s have a free-for-all in the school’s toilets, they were ignorantly ridiculed by the media. Until it was pointed out that is exactly what Marxist Roz Ward (the author of the not so Safe Schools Programme) was advocating on a flyer for an election rally just this year. It read “Marriage equality now – Safe Schools Everywhere”. The hyperventilation of the media immediately returned to passive breathing. Nothing to be said or be seen here anymore. Let’s just move on.”
– “The title is reflective of the author’s style – what you see is what you get. We are told as it is and how it will be – changing the definition of marriage is to steal from children and that is a gross injustice. No hidden agenda here. Unlike those advocating to deconstruct the nuclear family.”
– “Friends, make no mistake this issue of changing marriage is not minor. The promoters of the change know it and brazenly tell us so. Within their ranks, they have enlisted what the Marxists refer to quite disrespectfully as the “useful idiots” – those who go along without understanding the true aim. They are in fact truly “dangerous idiots” to adopt the dismissive Marxist terminology. We need to alert them to what they are actually supporting.”
– “Using quotes from as diverse a range of people as Bertrand Russell to former Senator Ron Boswell to the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court to Catholic Bishops to Marxists like Roz Ward (the author of the not so Safe Schools programme), we are treated to a rich variety of sources which are woven together in a rich tapestry which by its sheer force will convert any mind even slightly willing to entertain the case for marriage into a zealous advocate.”
– “When Marxists and others who are determined to destroy family and any vestige of our Judeo-Christian heritage brazenly tell us what they are up to we have an overriding duty to respond.”
[***].
Liberal Party candidate Gurpal Singh was asked to resign his candidacy for the Victorian seat of Scullin after it was revealed he had dismissed a nursing-student’s allegations of domestic violence and sexual abuse via Facebook in 2018, claiming that her husband was “the real victim.”
The Liberal Party had already been under pressure to disendorse Gurpal Singh for previous comments linking homosexuality to paedophilia during the campaign against marriage-equality in 2017. In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Mr Singh stated: “I think it is also an issue of paedophilia – in these situations the occurrence can be high.”
According to treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the Liberal Party had chosen not to disendorse Gurpal Singh over his comments regarding homosexuality and paedophillia, stating that Mr Singh had ‘apologised unreservedly’ for those comments and no longer held those views
Mr Singh also told SBS Punjabi that the surrogacy or adoption of children by same-sex couples was a ‘totally distorted idea’ and ‘unnatural’ stating: “I believe it is important for a child to have both mother and father. I believe the children of same sex couples are unfortunate who do not receive love from both parents; mother, who gives birth and father, who they are a part of.”
[23]. ‘Same sex marriage is unnatural’ says no campaigner Gurpal Singh – SBS Punjabi, October 2, 2017.
Link: https://www.sbs.com.au/
[24]. Liberals stand by candidate Gurpal Singh who linked same-sex couples to paedophilia – SBS News, 9 May 2019.
Link: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/
[25]. Calls to dump Liberal candidate over Facebook attack against alleged rape victim – SBS News, 9 May 2019.
Link: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/
[26]. Liberal candidate Gurpal Singh dumped after comments about rape emerge – The Guardian, 9 May 2019.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/
Further
Preview YouTube video Campbell Markham – Redefining Marriage: Consequences and Casualties
Campbell Markham – Redefining Marriage: Consequences and Casualties
SAM MAZUR: Councillor Accused of ‘Offensive Comments’ by Pastor’s Wife.