For everyone who said “2021 will be better than 2020!”, Pete Evans is here to prove you wrong.
The anti-vaxxing, conspiracy touting, celebrity chef intends to run for the Senate, having been announced by One Nation MP Rod Culleton as The Great Australia Party’s ‘first Senate candidate for the Federal Election’.
In a press statement, Cullerton said, “Pete Evans has maintained his principles and inspired others in the face of uncommon adversity. Throughout his engagement with GAP’s national selection committee, Pete presented an unwavering commitment to advancing the freedoms of all Australians. As a result, he has been resoundingly approved.
“Pete Evans has consistently demonstrated courage in exposing matters of public information and interest, provoking much-needed debate despite the personal cost to himself,” the statement continued.
Evans, who regularly shares posts from the conspiracy theorist group QAnon and who has expressed the opinion that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax, had previously alluded to his intentions to get into Federal politics in January, posting the Great Australian Party (GAP) logo to his Instagram account, along with a quote from 18th century political philosopher Edmund Burke which read: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Evans, who was dropped from his publisher after posting a meme that contained what appeared to be a neo-Nazi symbol to his social media, has been outspoken in his beliefs that Australians should not abide by social distancing rules, mask mandates or be fooled into getting the COVID vaccination when it becomes available.
He has also previously urged people not to get tested for the potentially deadly virus, a move which saw his official Facebook page suspended in December 2020 and has been vocal in his support for former US president Donald Trump.
The next Federal Election is scheduled for 2022.