By Helena Adeloju
Trolling scandal engulfs former Labor candidate’s family…
The son of disgraced Bunyip farmer John Anderson has been drawn into his own trolling scandal after he raged against Pakenham residents online.
Tom, who works for the State Government Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, is now undergoing an internal investigation after the revelations on Friday.
The latest moves come after his father was forced to resign from his positions on the boards of Living and Learning Pakenham, and Latrobe Regional Hospital on Tuesday 5 April.
Last week Premier Daniel Andrews slammed John Anderson, who stood as an ALP candidate in the 2002, 2006 and 2014 state elections, for his online activity.
“His resignation is the appropriate thing to do,” the Premier said.
“His comments are appalling.”
Dating back to 2009, Tom allegedly tweeted several rants against the Shire of Cardinia and Liberals including Tony Abbot, Michael Kroger and Christopher Pyne.
Mr Anderson senior was outed as the troll behind a highly abusive left-wing Twitter account in a media report on Tuesday 5 April.
Speaking to the Gazette on Monday, John Anderson criticised the media reports about his son which he believed were unfair.
“I’m fair game, but my family should be left alone,” he said.
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning spokesman Ewan Cook said of the probe into Tom Anderson that the department does “not condone offensive or derogatory behaviour” and that it was investigating possible breaches of government policies.
Tom’s abusive tweets sent from the Twitter account @scumcaver came to light just days after his father John was forced to resign.
Victims of John’s tolling included former fellow Latrobe Regional Hospital board member Mary Aldred and Liberal Gembrook MP Brad Battin who were both forced to block tweets from the @AndoJC Twitter account.
John has since said he regretted his actions.
“I sincerely apologise for any comments I have made on social media that may have offended,” John Anderson said in a statement on Friday 7 April.
He said he had resigned from the boards of several local organisations to ensure his actions did not reflect badly on them.
John Anderson also speculated that media reports calling attention to the tweets from 2011 “may have been politically motivated”.
The tweets that landed John Anderson in hot water included attacks on Liberal politicians’ gender and sexuality, the comparison of a female writer to a “used condom” and sexualised remarks about grammar schoolboys.
Living and Learning Pakenham CEO Miriam Cadwallader said she was “shocked by the revelations” and “in no way condones Mr (John) Anderson’s behaviour or comments”.
In his resignation letter John Anderson blamed sections of the media and the members of the Liberal Party for colluding to bring about his downfall.
“Given that this whole episode was initiated to gain political traction, the journalists have not bothered to look at other tweets in my account nor report on them for balance,” he wrote.
“As this story was broken by the Herald Sun, and aided and abetted by members of the Liberal Party, it was always going to be a no-win situation for me.”
State Health Minister Jill Hennessy, who appointed Mr Anderson to his role at the Traralgon-based hospital in 2015, said she called for Mr Anderson’s resignation as soon as she was made aware of the “offensive and distasteful” Twitter comments.
Latrobe Regional Hospital accepted his resignation immediately as did AFL Gippsland and several other organisations with links to John Anderson.
He was also a director of the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, Victorian Healthcare Association, and the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation until 5 April.
