Rhys Muldoon, the actor best known for presenting the Australian children's programme Play School, has been sacked from his job as a political staffer after a string of historic tweets containing racist and sexually explicit language resurfaced this week.
The 60-year-old had been advising first-term Labor Senator Richard Dowling since July when the posts came to light. He was dismissed on Tuesday, according to news.com.au, which first reported the tweets.
Among the posts were several directed at Sky News host Peta Credlin containing sexual references. "She's what Liberals think of Margaret Thatcher. They picture her with a strap on, pounding away at their sorry a**es," one tweet read.
In another, Muldoon wrote: "The tragedy of Peta Credlin... is her belief that anyone other than fetishised old white men think she contributes anything apart from a compromised boner."
Muldoon also used the N-word in a separate social media post, and in another message referred to Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as a "quisling", a term commonly used to describe a traitor. The word originates from Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian politician whose ideology was rooted in Nordic racial superiority.
Slur aimed at House Husbands co-star
The most explicit racial abuse was directed at Tim Campbell, Muldoon's former co-star on the television drama House Husbands. In a tweet dated 26 March 2014, Muldoon called Campbell a "n***er jew f*g dog" after Campbell appeared to call him a "homophobe" over an earlier post.
"I am protected under 28a you n***er jew f*g dog smoking liberal voter. X," Muldoon wrote at the time. It remains unclear which section 28a he was referring to.
Dowling confirms the sacking
Senator Dowling confirmed he had ended Muldoon's casual contract once he was made aware of the posts. "After being alerted to abhorrent tweets from my staffer, I've decided to not continue with his casual contract," he told news.com.au.
"Everyone in public life has a responsibility to do better when it comes to political discourse. The words used were unacceptable at any time," he said.
Credlin and Price respond
Credlin, a Sky News Australia host and former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Tony Abbott, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should take responsibility for the conduct of his party's staffers. "Is violent, sexual name-calling really the standard that the Prime Minister now accepts in his staffing ranks?" she told news.com.au.
Senator Price, a Country Liberal Party senator for the Northern Territory, also criticised the Prime Minister for giving Muldoon "a plum gig in his government". "Mr Muldoon's remarks are repulsive. They have no place in modern Australia, and Mr Muldoon has no place working for the Australian Government," she said.
From Play School to Parliament House
Muldoon starred on Play School, the long-running Australian preschool television series that has aired since 1966, from 2000 to 2012. His recruitment as a staffer for Dowling was only made public earlier this month.
Dowling told Politico he had wanted Muldoon on his team because of his political instincts. "He understands politics instinctively, writes brilliantly, thinks differently to me and isn't afraid to say it," he said. "That's exactly why I wanted to work with him."
Muldoon had long been involved in political and public policy discussion before taking the role. He co-wrote the children's book Jasper & Abby and the Great Australia Day Kerfuffle with former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and wrote an essay for The Monthly about the removal of an Australian diplomat from leadership that was named an essay of the year.
