Albany Liberal candidate Thomas Brough apologises for paedophilia remarks to LGBTQIA+ community after backlash

Albany Liberal candidate and councillor Thomas Brough has apologised “for any hurt that has been caused” by his remarks linking the LGBTQIA+ community to paedophilia at a February council meeting. The apology comes after Cr Brough’s confirmation on Saturday as the Liberal Party’s candidate for Albany at the next state election, which will see him face off against Labor incumbent Rebecca Stephens. Mr Brough made headlines in February when he falsely claimed, while the city’s annual Pride festival was underway, that the plus in LGBTQIA+ included “minor-attracted persons” — a euphemism for paedophiles. “Within the coalition of the LGBTQIA+, the plus includes people who identify as minor-attracted persons,” he said at the February council meeting. At the time, Liberal leader Libby Mettam slammed his comments as “bizarre” and “not appropriate”. The doctor and councillor doubled down in subsequent media interviews, becoming the subject of Albany Pride’s formal complaint to the City of Albany and an online petition calling on Ms Mettam to revoke Cr Brough’s preselection, which has gained more than 500 signatures since May 1. In a statement to the Advertiser on Tuesday, Cr Brough said his comments at the February council meeting were made on behalf of someone else. “Earlier this year, a member of the public asked me to follow up on their behalf regarding a matter they had raised with the Albany Pride group,” his statement reads. “I did this during a council meeting, as I would for any other local council constituent who raised a matter. “I acknowledge the way in which I approached this issue has caused distress for some people. “I apologise for any hurt that has been caused. “My desire is to be an effective and engaged advocate for the entire Albany community and I intend to get on with that task and earn the trust of local people.” Ms Mettam welcomed the apology in a statement on Tuesday. “Dr Brough has apologised for any hurt his comments caused, which I welcome,” she said. “Like the rest of the WA Liberal team, I intend to get on with holding this tired, incompetent Labor Government to account for squandering WA’s economic boom, and only delivering soaring crime rates, a cost-of-living crisis and an explosion in hospital waiting lists. “The same is expected from all our candidates.” However, Albany Pride committee member Tiger Bird slammed the apology, saying it was a “backtrack” and “just not good enough”. “To be quite frank, it’s not so much an apology as it is him trying to rewrite history and change the narrative,” they said. “He claims he was asking a question on behalf of the community, but if that was the case he would’ve come to us, and we certainly didn’t hear a dicky bird from him. “It’s not just the queer community who deserves better, it’s the residents of Albany and the Liberal party themselves. “We can’t let this one slide, it’s pathetic and it’s got to stop.” In an earlier conversation with the Advertiser on May 3, Mx Bird said Cr Brough’s selection as the Liberal Party candidate was “kind of astounding”. “It’s incredibly sad for WA liberals that the best they can offer is someone repeating conspiracy theories . . . We need a robust opposition for the state and we’re not getting that with a tin-pot Trumpian politician.”