NSW Liberal Party Dumps Wyong Candidate Matt Squires Over Anti-Gay Posts
Image: NSW Liberal candidate for Wyong Matt Squires was dumped by the party.
Ten days before the state elections, NSW Liberals disendorsed Matt Squires, the party’s candidate for the seat of Wyong, after his past homophobic and racist social media posts resurfaced.
Trigger Warning: This story discusses homophobic, racist and sexist comments, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.
In his social media posts he condemned homosexuality as a “perversion” and compared LGBTQI activists to “terrorists”. The NSW state elections are scheduled to be held on March 25, 2023.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said he supported the action taken by the party adding that such views were “unacceptable”. In an interview with 2GB radio, Perrottet said that “those views have no place in our party”.
In a statement NSW Liberal Party spokesperson said that Squires’ views were “offensive” and he had been “disendorsed” as he had “failed to make appropriate disclosures to the party during the nomination process”.
Homophobic Posts
Squires works as a healthcare consultant for businesses according to his LinkedIn profile. His homophobic and racist social media comments were first reported by The Australian.
Some of the homophobic comments date back to 2017 when he posted a photo of his ‘no’ vote during the marriage equality national referendum. “Standing with the 38 per cent,” he posted on November 15, 2017, alluding to the percentage of Australians who had said no to marriage equality.
In a post on the Facebook group Australian Liberty Forum, he compared homosexuality to incest and necrophilia, reported The Australian. “Incest and necrophilia affect us all because it severely degrades our common humanity. Legal restrictions limit (just like sodomy laws used to limit homosexuality),” he wrote.
EXCLUSIVE: A Liberal HQ spokesman said an investigation had been launched into Matthew Squires' social media posts after questions were raised by The Australian. Read more: https://t.co/XtUhzq3AOA pic.twitter.com/PdANYXDLUa
— The Australian (@australian) March 13, 2023
In a 2019 post about a ban on so-called gay conversion therapy, Squires said: “Some ppl are always going to recognise homosexuality for what it is – perversion.”
A May 2021 post compared LGBTQI activists to terrorists. “The homosexuality activists and the Palestinian terrorists are aligned because they are both serving evil ideologies. Some of you are sympathetic to both cause because you are too! Great way to test yourself.”
Racist Posts
Squires’ sexist and racist posts on his Twitter page were still visible at press time. “Modern feminism is inheritly (sic) sexist – seeking to destroy gender – male and female. Don’t be afraid to call it out,” he claims in a 2017 Twitter post.
A March 2017 post had Squires broadcasting his views on race and reconciliation. “Any policy based on the belief that all cultures are equally worthy of respect, will fail to Close the Gap,” he wrote. In December 2017, he claimed: “Consider dropping opening racial acknowledgements – they promote racism and division.”
The resurfacing of Squires’ online posts harks back to the 2022 federal elections when past anti-trans and anti-LGBTQI social media posts by Katherine Deves, former Liberal candidate for the seat of Warringah came to light.
Deves had then apologised and deleted her social media accounts. Then Prime Minister Scott Morrison had rejected demands to disendorse Deves. Recently, Deves said she regretted apologising for her past social media posts.
