In short:
Indigenous Victorians have welcomed the Liberal Party's decision to disendorse its candidate for Williamstown after his racist social media posts were unearthed.
asserted
posts → welcome → Williamstown
Liberal leader Jess Wilson said she was not aware of Paul Lindemann's Facebook comments before he was pre-selected and that she found them deeply offensive.
What's next?
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What → say → comments
Mr Lindemann's disendorsement came after the deadline for nominations closed, and he will remain listed on ballot sheets as a Liberal candidate.
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he → come → candidate
Victoria's Treaty body has welcomed the disendorsement of a candidate who made racist posts about Aboriginal people on social media.
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who → welcome → media
Paul Lindemann was removed yesterday as the Liberal candidate for Williamstown after the posts were uncovered, but will remain on the ballot sheet because nominations closed on Monday.
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nominations → remove → Monday
Mr Lindemann made a series of posts on Facebook in which he referred to Indigenous Australians as "half breeds" or "half castes".
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he → make → breeds
Mr Lindemann posted under the name Biddy Hu Biddy Hu in an apparent reference to his yacht Biddy Hu II, with which he competes in sailing competitions.
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he → post → competitions
In one post he wrote that Indigenous Australians "believe they have more rights than the others that followed" and that Aboriginal people with "foreign blood" should "forego Indigenous status".
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people → write → status
Mr Lindemann also said he had "much respect" for the "full bloods" but that "half castes" had only "greed and hatred".
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castes → say → greed
The term "half caste" was used in laws during early colonisation in Victoria to identify Indigenous children with a non-Indigenous parent and justify the separation of them from their communities.
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term → use → communities
The state's Yoorrook Justice Commission found laws that allowed Indigenous children to be forcibly removed from their families and culture constituted an act of "genocide".
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children → find → genocide
Djaran Murray-Jackson, who is the co-chair of Victoria's Treaty body Gellung Warl, backed the Liberal Party's decision to disendorse Mr Lindemann.
"The right decision has been made in withdrawing support from a candidate who uses racist and dehumanising terminology; language that was directly associated with harmful policies that inflicted real and lasting damage to our people," he said.
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he → back → people
"Truth and Treaty honours a new path forward to learn and acknowledge our past, heal and to shape better futures for generations to come."
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Truth → honour → generations
Liberal leader Jess Wilson said her party was not aware of the comments before Mr Lindemann was pre-selected and she found them deeply offensive.
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them → say → comments
"We moved immediately to disendorse Mr Lindemann because I have the highest standards for my team, for my MPs and for my candidates," she said
"I'm disappointed that we were not aware of the comments Mr Lindemann had made.
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Lindemann → move → comments
Had we been aware, we would not have pre-selected him in the first place."
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we → pre → place
Mr Lindemann has been contacted for comment.
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Lindemann → contact → comment
Tarneen Onus-Brown from First Nations advocacy organisation Common Threads said it was disheartening to see a candidate using "outdated racist language of 50 or 60 years ago".
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candidate → say → language
"I'm not surprised that they've attracted somebody to their party that actually speaks like that because they don't want to support First Nations policy," she said.
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she → attract → policy
"When they don't support First Nations justice and Treaty, as most Victorians do, then it's not surprising when this person is being racist on a burner Facebook account."
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person → support → account
The Age had previously reported Mr Lindemann had been sanctioned over allegations he insulted and mocked a young basketball player while coaching the Bay City Lakers.
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he → report → Lakers
In a statement in response to that allegation, Mr Lindemann apologised for his actions and acknowledged he should have "handled the situation differently".
Ms Wilson was asked several times during a press conference today why he was not disendorsed over the basketball incident.
"
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he → apologise → incident
Mr Lindemann apologised for the basketball incident, but further information came to light that does not meet the standards I accept from my candidates or my MPs," she said.
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she → apologise → candidates
Ms Wilson conceded there was a possibility he may still be elected.
uncertain
he → concede → ?
"That's a matter for the people of Williamstown, but he is not our candidate," she said.
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she → say → Williamstown
Williamstown is currently held by Labor MP Melissa Horne.
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Williamstown → hold → Horne
Gill Gannon, the West Party candidate for Williamstown, said the campaign in the seat had now become "very dynamic" given Mr Lindemann's disendorsement.
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campaign → say → disendorsement
"I'm not sure how it's all going to play out, we're in a very, very dynamic situation, with that situation at the moment," she told 774 ABC Melbourne.
"I think there's an appetite for change in our electorate and we're hoping that that happens."
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that → go → electorate
The Aporia