Do More With Reuters
Partner Services

Aussie family values party dumps candidate for porn pics

Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:58am IST
 
Email | Print | | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A family values campaigner accused of taking pornographic photographs of himself has been dumped as a candidate for Australia's November election by the Christian-values Family First Party.

Sydney music teacher Andrew Quah, 21, admitted photographs showing his penis and circulating widely on gay websites had embarrassed his party and made his candidacy untenable.

"But that's not my penis," Quah told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, adding one of the images may have been digitally altered.

"I might have been drunk off my face, or my political enemies might have drugged me," Quah said. "It was a mistake that I would not have committed had I been of right mind. All I know, I have been humiliated."

Family First leader and upper house Senator Steve Fielding spoke to Quah at the weekend and dumped him as the party's candidate for a western Sydney seat because his actions contradicted the party's strong family values platform.

"Andrew has admitted to the party that two of the photos were of himself, but he denied that a third photo was of himself," party spokeswoman Felicity de Fombelle told Reuters.

"He denied uploading the photos, but he also admitted that he personally used pornography, so his views are at odds with the values of the party," she said.

Quah, nicknamed "Australia's Smallest Loser" in a parody of a popular television series after the photos came to light, had been a member of Family First for 11 months, de Fombelle said.  Continued...

India Investment Summit 2009
India Investment Summit 2009

Top executives and bankers discuss their own plans and the broader opportunities and challenges for India during the Reuters India Investment Summit in Mumbai and Bangalore.  Full Coverage | Blog 

Reuters correspondent Sourav Mishra recounts the unforgettable night of Nov. 26 at Mumbai's Leopold Cafe
Back from the Dead
REUTERS WITNESS - 26/11

Reuters correspondent Sourav Mishra recounts the night of Nov. 26 at Leopold Cafe.  Full Article | Full Coverage 

One Year Later

A look back at the events of 26/11 ahead of the first anniversary of the militant attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.  Slideshow | Full Coverage 

Photo
Aging Santa gets $100,000 facelift for Christmas 7:03pm IST 

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A Santa in New Zealand with a droopy eye has received a NZ$100,000 ($74,000) face-lift in the run-up to Christmas so that his aging face does not scare children.  Full Article