A One Nation candidate in the upcoming Victorian state election has been forced to drop out after a series of offensive online comments resurfaced.
Matthew Collins, who had been running in the inner-city electorate of Melbourne, apologised for the comments after withdrawing his candidacy.
The 35-year-old said the past posts, which suggested he did not believe in obtaining consent from women, no longer represented who he was.
'I am very sorry for the unacceptable comments that I made,' he said in a statement provided by the party.
'They are not reflective of who I am as a person now, and I deeply regret ever having made them.'
According to The Age, the comments made on a since-deleted X account included labelling asking for sexual consent from a woman as 'cringe'.
He reportedly posted in 2020 that he had 'never once asked any woman for any form of consent, ever'.
'It's all implied by a woman's actions and attraction levels which any astute man will be paying attention to,' the post said.
Matthew Collins (pictured), who had been running in the inner-city electorate of Melbourne, apologised for the comments after withdrawing his candidacy
The comments made on a since-deleted X account included labelling asking for sexual consent from a woman as 'cringe'
A One Nation spokesperson said the party did not condone the comments. Federal party leader Pauline Hanson is pictured
A One Nation spokesperson said the party did not condone the comments.
'One Nation Victoria has been made aware of a number of offensive comments posted on social media by our candidate for Melbourne, Matthew Collins,' they said.
'Mr Collins acknowledges his comments were offensive and unacceptable, and One Nation Victoria has accepted his resignation from the candidacy.'
When asked about the controversy on Sunday, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the former One Nation candidate should be condemned for his online views.
'Well, I don't believe he's running as the candidate anymore, but they were absolutely disgusting comments,' she said.
Mr Collins' profile on the One Nation website lists him as newly married and running a small business after beginning his career in sales.
His political priorities included restoring community safety, easing cost-of-living pressure on families and small business, and increasing government accountability.
One Nation has been consistently polling third behind the coalition and Labor ahead of the state election, putting it in a position to pick up several seats.
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