Former state election candidate Dean Ewington has lamented that he won't be able to fight against cancel culture as an elected representative.
In a long post made on social media, Mr Ewington said there were two reasons he decided to run in the May election: preventative health and the current attack on free speech.
Mr Ewington withdrew from the contest in Franklin after a discussion with Premier Peter Gutwein on Wednesday afternoon.
IN OTHER NEWS:
This had followed media coverage on a Facebook post in which Mr Ewington had made light of autism in an attack against teenage climate change advocate Greta Thunberg and a video in which he criticised the government's action against the coronavirus pandemic.
In a post made on Wednesday night, Mr Ewington described cancel culture as a poison.
"This is a major threat to the exchange of good ideas and development of better public policy," he said.
"This creates an environment that makes some people think twice about putting their hand up for public office. That is not a good thing.
"We unfortunately now see a pattern in public debate where the threat of being attacked or called a racist, homophobe, denier or misogynist stops many from speaking out.
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
