The Labor candidate for the marginal seat of Lindsay has deleted a series of embarrassing social media posts in which she declared all politicians "lie, steal and cheat", that there was "no such thing as the best party" and in which she personally attacked a Liberal power couple.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And the ALP's Emma Husar has also deleted a photo of herself hugging a giant red condom.
Copies of the deleted Facebook posts have resurfaced as Opposition Leader Bill Shorten prepares to formally launch Labor's election campaign this Sunday in the seat of Lindsay.
Ms Husar, who stood for the NSW state seat of Penrith and lost to Baird government minister Stuart Ayres in 2015, is hoping to dislodge Liberal MP Fiona Scott, who currently holds the federal seat with a 3 per cent margin
The colourful comments on Facebook date back to 2010 and include, in June that year, criticism of Mr Ayres. Ms Husar's post concluded "politicians, I want to be one, you can lie, steal, cheat and use other people's money to go on holidays – the best job in the world".
She went on to make a personal attack on Mr Ayres and his now wife, federal Defence Minister Marisa Payne, which Fairfax Media has chosen not to repeat.
In another angry post on August 20, 2010 – the day before a federal poll in which asylum seeker policy had been a major issue – Ms Husar said that it was "hardly the issue it is being made out to be".
"I don't vote to get the best party in because there is no such thing. I just vote to keep the worst ones out," she added.
When asked about the giant condom, which was designed to raise awareness about safe sex and AIDS, Ms Husar indicated that she was embarrassed by the image and had removed it on that basis.
"These posts were stupid and I absolutely regret making them. They are more than six years old and certainly don't reflect my values or views," she said in a statement.
Ms Husar was pre-selected for Lindsay in December 2015 but not formally endorsed until April 2016 by Labor's admin committee.
