SA candidate apologies for insulting residents

A South Australian Liberal candidate who suggested his would-be constituents were smelly and work-shy has issued a formal apology.

Anthony Antoniadis, the candidate for the Adelaide seat of Ramsay in the upcoming state election, made the derogatory comments in a series of Facebook posts, the Adelaide Advertiser reports.

The 26-year-old offended residents when he posted "I love it when I can smell customers from 10 meters (sic) away" and "If only the people standing infront (sic) of centrelink at 8am would wake up early enough to get a job".

Mr Antoniadis, who runs a newsagent's in Salisbury, also made fun of customers who gambled at the store.

"Welcome to Salisbury: A mother speaking to her 6 year old son… 'Get out of my f---ing way and sit down. I want to play Keno'."

The aspiring politician conceded the comments were offensive and issued a written apology last night.

"I'd like to apologise for the immature remarks I made regarding a small number of constituents at my place of employment," the statement said.

"The comments were unacceptable and I understand they may have offended many people."

He has since shut down the Facebook page.

The election will be held on March 15.

Source: Adelaide Advertiser
Author: Emily Crane, Approving editor: Martin Zavan