A New South Wales election candidate has backed away from old social media posts where he called for the Koran to be banned, capital punishment to be reintroduced, and the right to bear arms in public.
The Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party today announced Aaron Kelly as its candidate for the seat of Orange in the state's central west.
It is currently held by Phil Donato, who was first elected as an SFF member in 2016 but has since quit the party.
SFF deputy leader Mark Banasiak said Mr Kelly was contesting the seat with the "hopes to replicate the success they had following the 2019 state election".
At that poll, Mr Donato increased his primary vote to almost 50 per cent, after being elected three years earlier by just 50 votes.
He defected last year because of comments made by SFF leader Robert Borsak, who suggested a female MP should be 'clocked'.
Mr Donato is running for re-election as an Independent.
Past social media posts
Posts on Mr Kelly's Facebook page from 2017 show him supporting a petition which called for the Koran, the religious text of Islam, to be removed from sale.
At the time, he wrote, "This type of teaching should not be allowed anywhere in Australia or any other civilised country".
Today he said, "I don't stand for the Koran at all."
But he said he did not think it should be banned.
Mr Banasiak said it was a party "largely born of freedoms".
"[People] have the freedom to read whatever we like," he said.
Another post that Mr Kelly shared on his Facebook page was in support of carrying guns in Australia.
The ABC asked if he stood by those views six years later, to which he said the laws "shouldn't necessarily be changed".
He believed in the right to self-defence.
"The right to self-defence in your own home shouldn't necessarily include a firearm because the way we have to store them makes it too long a process," he said.
"I've worked in security all my life. I carry a firearm every day, and if someone attacks me, I will defend myself."
On capital punishment, Mr Kelly wrote on social media in 2017:
"It is my belief that a child rapist or child murderer should not ever be released into society ever," he said.
"Capital punishment still has a place."
Today, he said, "I don't necessarily stand by that".
Priority to grow region
Mr Kelly has lived in Parkes, within the electorate, for 27 years.
If elected, Mr Kelly said he would like to see more significant investment in regional healthcare, in particular, having palliative care beds at Orange Base Hospital.
He would like to see a $15 million Greyhound Racing Centre for Excellence built in the city.
"Orange is a major regional centre," he said.
"I want to continue to see it grow."
Mr Banasiak said he had no comment to make about the candidate's views as he has not been able to verify the Facebook posts.
He said there was an appetite for conservative parties.
"But there's also a silent majority that are sick of having leftist ideas down their throats," Mr Banasiak said.
