Katter's candidates now targeting Muslims
A DAY after two of Bob Katter's Australian Party candidates were ridiculed for making homophobic jibes, one of their colleagues came under fire for expressing his distaste for Muslim blessed meats.
Greenway candidate Jamie Cavanough took to an online community forum to ask where he could buy "Guaranteed NON halal lamb for Australia Day".
He went on to say he would "prefer to always buy non-halal as proceeds of halal goes to the Muslim community".
In his defence, KAP National Director Aidan McLindon said "some Australians want crunchy peanut butter, others want smooth peanut butter, some Australians want halal meat and some want non-halal meat - these are just some of the great freedoms we enjoy in this country".
Sidelined Queensland KAP candidate Bernard Gaynor announced on Twitter: "I agree with KAP candidate Jamie Cavanough. I don't want to buy meat that has been faced towards Mecca & blessed".
Mr Gaynor was suspended from the party yesterday after tweeting "I wouldn't let a gay person teach my children and I am not afraid to say it."
In a statement released today, Mr Gaynor vowed to fight the suspension and expressed disappointment that the party had "chosen a politically-correct course of action".
He said he had been suspended for "stating an opinion that the party leadership personally supported" and quipped that "the Greens would be very happy with this decision".
Victorian KAP candidate Tess Corbet withdrew her candidacy yesterday after being criticised for likening homosexuality to paedophilia.
Mr Katter has so far refused to comment on his party's views on equal rights.
During an interview on morning radio today he hung up the phone after being pressed on the issue.
The night before he told hosts on Channel Ten's The Project, "You are taking me out of the area of my concern" when asked whether he thought it was offensive to equate homosexuality with paedophilia.
Asked for his onion on high suicide rates in the gay and lesbian community, Mr Katter said he was "not aware of a single person of that persuasion" committing suicide in his community.
He said the hosts were trying to distract him from talking about the "important issues" like the price of milk.
