Special Minister of State Alex Hawke.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Facing criticism for the comments,which were made in 2016,Ms Liu quickly declared she had been misrepresented and they were not her personal views."I firmly support equality across our community,"she said.
Defending the party's candidate for the Victorian seat of Chisholm,Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Ms Liu was not homophobic and"was simply saying that these were the views of that community".
Mr Hawke,the Special Minister of State,has doubled down on the sentiments,declaring"Gladys Liu is right"and criticising the Safe Schools program.
In a Facebook post that has subsequently been run as a paid advertisement on the social media platform,Mr Hawke said the"program was written by an actual communist&involved forcing radical gender-based theory on kids,even in primary school".
Alex Hawke has backed Gladys Liu's remarks,which Ms Liu has distanced herself from.
He said the program"did not have the consent of parents or educators and was defunded by this Liberal government".
Approached on Saturday,Mr Hawke said in a statement that"Gladys Liu is a fantastic candidate for Chisholm and was right to reflect community concern with this program".