SA Liberals Ditch Candidate Who Said Homosexuality Opens “Demonic Realms”
Image: Carston Woodhouse on the ElijahFire podcast/ on the SA Liberal candidate page.
Leader of the South Australian Liberals, Ashton Hurn, has confirmed the party’s candidate for the seat of Wright, Carston Woodhouse, is no longer running for election after his archaic comments about women, queer people, and Islam.
Woodhouse’s opinions, made publicly in several episodes of the evangelical American religious podcast , were unearthed earlier this week by incumbent member for Wright,聽Labor鈥檚 Blair Boyer. They聽included high-brow insights such as 鈥渟ame-sex marriage is not real鈥�, 鈥渇eminism is demonic,鈥� Islam is 鈥減oisonous and wrong鈥� and the 鈥渢rans agenda is insanity鈥�.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this whole reality pretending that same-sex marriage is real,” he said in one episode. “It鈥檚 not, it ignores decades of the reality of observations that marriage is between a man and a woman鈥�.
A pastor for the Field of Dreams Church based in Adelaide, no mention of his role or his evangelical Christian values were listed on his , which highlights the importance of 鈥渃ommon sense leadership鈥� and 鈥済overnment overreaches鈥�.
Hurn said on Wednesday that while she didn’t share Woodhouse’s views, she wasn’t going to “stop someone from having an opinion”, though quickly changed her tune after backlash from beyond the state.
“I stood here yesterday and made myself clear that I did not support the comments made by a particular candidate, that remains true today,” she said at a press conference on Thursday. “That person is no longer a candidate for the next election.”
Woodhouse stands by “deeply held views”
Liberal Party State Director Alex Hyde said in a statement that Woodhouse “agreed to withdraw his candidacy”.
“I met with candidate for Wright, Carston Woodhouse, and discussed the need for our campaign to remain focused on our policy priorities of affordability, healthcare, and crime,” he said.
“As a result of being asked to step down, and in support of our team and campaign remaining focused, Mr Woodhouse has agreed to withdraw his candidacy.
“Mr Woodhouse does not shirk from his deeply held views and wants to see the Liberal Party succeed in the election and hold this terrible Labor government to account.
“The Electoral Commission has been informed of this decision.”
Charlie Hamra,聽President of the South Australian chapter of聽Pride in Law, Australia鈥檚 national LGBTIQA+ law association, says that currently LGBTIQA+ South Australians have no legal protection from hate speech and vilification, with the state’s Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA)聽remaining silent on the matter of hatred towards minority groups. South Australia’s hate laws .
鈥淐arston Woodhouse denies the reality of same-sex marriage and Cory Bernardi regurgitates a link to bestiality,” he said. “But these are only the most prominent recent examples of a continuous torrent of abuse faced by the LGBTIQA+ community every day.
鈥淧ride in Law calls upon all candidates to commit to legislate to ban the inciting of hate, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or group on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, intersex status, HIV/AIDS status, disability or religion.鈥�
Hurn confirmed that Woodhouse was still contracted to work at Liberal Party headquarters.
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