Xenophon candidate Tom Antonio denies involvement in 'shoot Aborigines' fax
Updated
Nick Xenophon's newest candidate for the upcoming South Australian election has denied allegations he made racist comments in a fax message decades ago.
This morning Mr Xenophon announced Tom Antonio as the SA Best candidate for the regional seat of Giles.
In 1992, former MP Ian Gilfillan told Parliament Mr Antonio and another councillor were responsible for sending a fax with a heading "Licence to shoot Aborigines".
This morning at his official campaign launch, the former acting mayor of Whyalla Council and prominent businessman was asked whether there was truth to allegations.
"It is an absolute lie and I will be taking legal action on anybody who throws any sort of allegations as such at me, because it is absolutely fabricated and it's a total lie," Mr Antonio said.
"I knew nothing about it and had no contact or understanding until it came out. I have no idea, I've never seen it [fax] so I can't comment on something I know nothing about."
Mr Xenophon said he had discussed the matter with his candidate.
"He was very distressed about these allegations," he said.
"They're not true, they're false and malicious and Tom has a very strong relationship with the indigenous community in Whyalla and more broadly in the region and he takes great offence from that."
Mr Xenophon said he wanted Mr Antonio to run because he believed he was a strong advocate for the local community while Arrium was in administration.
"He said at the time, to me and the world that closure was not an option for the Whyalla steelworks … [the administrator] actually singled out Tom Antonio for his tenacity and for his hard work," Mr Xenophon said.
Earlier, Premier Jay Weatherill disputed that claim during a campaign announcement in Whyalla.
"Tom was decidedly unhelpful and the administrator had to speak to him about his behaviour jeopardising the rescue of Arrium," Mr Weatherill said.
"He played an incredibly destructive role through that whole process."
It is not the first time an SA Best candidate has received unwanted media attention.
Last year, Rhys Jones came under fire for photos he took at Madame Tussauds in Sydney with inappropriate captions.
Hours after being announced as a candidate, he was fired.
Topics: states-and-territories, elections, government-and-politics, whyalla-5600, sa
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