Youth group condemns gay hate allegations

A group of young LGBTI people have hit out against alleged homophobic comments made by Liberal senator Bill Heffernan, demanding a better standard from elected officials.

Heffernan has been accused of a homophobic attack against a senior Liberal staffer, allegedly hitting him and calling him “a poofter” at a Liberal Party meeting on the NSW Central Coast on May 3.

Members from Wear It Purple, a group of same-sex attracted and gender-diverse youth, have condemned the allegations which are still being investigated.

“The idea that someone in Australia today still refers to gays as ‘poofters reveals an archaic world view that should not be accepted in our society,” co-founder Katherine Hudson, 18, said.

She said she was worried about what effect the alleged comments would have on vulnerable young people.

Police are investigating the allegations made by Ray Carter, an employee of NSW Energy Minister Chris Hartcher.

In a statutory declaration, Carter alleged Heffernan struck him so hard that he knocked him off balance and later approached him and said, “I didn’t know you were a poofter”.

Heffernan has denied the allegations and told ABC radio they were hurtful to him and his family.

Carter is currently suspended from his job while he is under investigation for allegedly accepting donations from a property developer.

The Canberra Times reported that Heffernan had made the report against Carter.

Federal Labor parliamentarians have called on Opposition leader Tony Abbott to sack Heffernan but he has rejected the demand.