Ben Britton has been dis-endorsed as the Liberal Party’s candidate for Whitlam. Photo: Ben Britton.
Just weeks out from the federal election, the seat of Whitlam is in political turmoil.
On Thursday, 3 April, news broke that Nationals candidate Katrina Hodgkinson would no longer run.
She said she was stepping aside to avoid splitting the Liberal-National voter base, leaving Liberal candidate Ben Britton to run solo.
Mr Britton was hailed by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as an “outstanding candidate” for Whitlam.
Just 24 hours later, headlines across Australia claimed Mr Britton had made several extreme comments on a right-wing podcast, including that women should not be able to serve in combat roles and that exposure to pornography caused young men to become transgender.
Mr Britton appeared on Joel Jammal’s podcast in July 2024 as part of a panel.
During that appearance, he claimed people were attracted to causes such as religion or climate change because images they saw online triggered memories from their ancestors who were Christian or pagan.
He also said all Wollongong City Councillors and candidates were “duds” and advocated for local councils to be abolished.
On Sunday, the Liberal Party announced Mr Britton had been dis-endorsed as a candidate.
A spokesperson for the party said the Administrative Committee of the NSW Division met on Sunday to endorse the new candidate, Nathaniel Smith.
They said the decision to dis-endorse Mr Britton was “over views expressed which were not previously disclosed and are inconsistent with the party’s position”.
Mr Smith’s candidate profile says he lives in the Southern Highlands with his wife, Christine, and their two daughters.
“Nathaniel is the CEO of the Master Plumbers Association of NSW,” the profile reads.
“From 2019 to 2023, Nathaniel served as the State Member for Wollondilly.”
Original Article published by Zoe Cartwright on Region Illawarra.
