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Federal election 2016: Labor candidate Christian Kunde quits over links to radical Islamic group
By Michael Koziol
A Labor candidate has quit the election race after it was revealed he had links with radical Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Christian Kunde, a trainee doctor from Albury, declared himself a friend of the group's controversial spokesman Uthman Badar in an opinion piece he penned in 2014.
Christian Kunde, a trainee doctor, said he had decided to stand aside in order not to distract from Labor's campaign.Credit: Mark Jesser
He also delivered a lecture at the University of Sydney in which he said same-sex marriage was not compatible with Islam, and referenced a comparison of gay marriage and incest.
Mr Kunde had been contesting the south-west NSW seat of Farrer, a very safe Coalition seat held by Health Minister Sussan Ley, which has never been won by Labor. He withdrew following inquiries into his background by News Corp.
Mr Kunde, pictured at an ANU lecture with Uthman Badar (left) and Lawrence Krauss (right) in 2012, has resigned as Labor's candidate for Farrer.
In a statement, he said he had decided to stand aside in order not to distract from Labor's campaign.
"I am not homophobic and I believe in Australian democracy. I disagree with the way my comments are being reported, in fact this distortion is exactly what I have warned about," Mr Kunde said.
Mr Kunde said he had been misrepresented by News Corp in a front page expose on Monday, and that he should not be held accountable for the views of his acquaintances.
He said he had no involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir and that it would be impossible to contest a democratic election while being a member of the group. "The way that this has been presented is not only unfair but completely false," he told the ABC.
Hizb ut-Tahrir's controversial spokesman Uthman BadarCredit: Edwina Pickles
Mr Kunde also said he had "absolutely no homophobic convictions" and his lecture had ultimately concluded there was no good reason to oppose same-sex marriage.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international organisation, has rattled cages in Australia with its firebrand Islamist politics. In 2014, Mr Badar was due to present a lecture at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney titled "Honour Killings are Morally Justified". It was cancelled after widespread outrage and a planned boycott were highlighted by Fairfax Media.
In a subsequent opinion piece in September 2014 for the ABC, Mr Kunde wrote that Mr Badar had been subject to a "particularly vulgar ad hominem" attack. He described Mr Badar as "a trusted friend" and "brilliant economics graduate", and expressed his disappointment that more people had not come to his friend's defence.
Shadow health spokeswoman Catherine King said Mr Kunde had clearly been deceptive with Labor preselectors and welcomed his resignation.
"He's obviously not been honest during the preselection process and he's right to resign," Ms King told ABC radio. "You are supposed to disclose all matters before you go for preselection, he hasn't done that and he's now gone."
The resignation came only days after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was criticised for inviting anti-gay cleric Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman to an iftar dinner he hosted at Kirribilli House on Thursday night. The Sheikh had accused gay people of spreading diseases and described AIDS as a divine punishment for homosexuality.
Mr Turnbull said he regretted the invitation to Sheikh Shady and that it would not have been issued if he had been aware of the Sheikh's comments.