Earlier this week their were news report highlighting that Greens candidate Avery Howard had been hit be a wave of homophobic abuse after his candidate was announced.
Most of the abusive comments centered on that Howard being non-binary, having long purple coloured hair and face piercing’s.
Conservative lobby group Advance subsequently posted a meme juxtaposing a photograph the candidates image alongside a photograph of the party’s founder Bob Brown in his youth and the caption “The Green you thought you ordered vs the one you got.”
The post was reshared by NSW MP Mark Latham. Latham recently made headlines when a court found him liable for the court costs relating to a defamation action Lathan lost against another NSW MP Alex Greenwich.
On the Advance Australia Facebook page and Mark Latham’s page their are multiple comments that accuse Howard of suffering from a mental illness, posts with homophobic comments, accusations that they are a pedophile, and others that appear to be suggesting violent acts.
A spokesperson for Advance said they did not condone the homophobia or violence but did not believe they held any responsibility for comments they appeared underneath their posts.
“We do not condone homophobia or violence and are not responsible for what people write on the internet.” the spokesperson told OUTinPerth.
“The point of our post was to highlight this candidate’s support for extreme Greens positions like an inheritance tax, more immigration amid a housing crisis, decriminalising drugs and the endorsement of woke and violent activism.
“Our message to the Australian people is that Greens candidates are not who they used to be and they/them is a great example of this.” the spokesperson said.
The right-wing Lobby group has been running a series of sponsored posts targeting both Labor and the Greens in the lead up to the federal election. After US President Donald Trump’s election success was buoyed by a social media campaign that targeted transgender and gender-diverse people, Advance started running sponsored posts with a similar message.
The lobby group is running a series of advertisements that described Prime Anthony Albanese as “weak and woke” repeating a description that has become the go-to phrasing for mention the PM by Coalition MPs over the past 18 months.
Advance has said they will be spending $5 million on their campaign targeting the Prime Minister, and another 5 million directed at The Greens.
Executive Director Matthew Sheahan told SevenWest media that his organisation’s members wanted to see campaigning around free speech.
“Australia has had enough of a woke agenda of shoving political correctness down our throats, attempts by the Government to ban free speech on social media and trying to shame people into voting for the terrible Voice referendum.” Sheahan said in early March.
Advance was formed in 2018 as a right-wing response to union backed lobby group Get Up!, who played a significant role in 2007 election of Labor and Kevin Rudd, and the push for marriage equality in Australia.
Howard has a background as an activist working to tackle homelessness and poverty and has previously shared their own story of becoming homeless at the age of 15.
They’ve spoken about their own experiences of tackling cost of living challenges, recounting walking around the supermarket with a calculator, and rely of charities and foodbanks to get enough food.
Howard has also shared how they were able to get traction on engagement with their studies and finding employment during the Covid era when youth allowance and job seeker benefits were increased, and mutual obligation requirements were reduced.
This is their second time running for the seat of Fowler having previously run at the 2022 election.
Mark Latham, The Greens and Avery Howard have been contacted for comment.
