Nationals' candidate exposed in Nazi links - QUEENSLAND DECIDES: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 30 Jan 2004: 8.
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Party officials were last night resisting pressure to disendorse Dan Van Blarcom, standing by the the Nationals' candidate for the Labor-held seat of Whitsunday, despite the picture, which shows him wearing a swastika armband in the ACT as a young man.
Mr Van Blarcom, who was called an anarchist in the 1970s and 80s when he ran Planet Press, which published a left-leaning satirical newspaper, refused to comment on the photograph last night, other than to cite the article detailing his work as an underground security operative. "That's the story and I am not making any further comment," he said.
National Party state director Roger Harcourt told The Australian Mr Van Blarcom had been working as an undercover agent or operative at the time, which required him to be associated with such groups in the course of his duties.
THE Nationals' campaign was rocked last night after the emergence of a photograph of a party candidate wearing a Nazi uniform.
Party officials were last night resisting pressure to disendorse Dan Van Blarcom, standing by the the Nationals' candidate for the Labor-held seat of Whitsunday, despite the picture, which shows him wearing a swastika armband in the ACT as a young man.
Mr Van Blarcom last night refused to reveal the circumstances in which the photograph, which first appeared in The Canberra Times in March 1970 with a caption bearing his real name, was taken.
He refused to tell The Australian if he had ever been a member of the Nazi Party.
But he recently claimed he had been secretly involved in "monitoring" swastika-wearing Nazis and members of other subversive groups.
Mr Van Blarcom, 52, said he worked undercover as a security operative, spying on dangerous individuals and groups. But he refused to says for what organisation he worked. "There were a number of groups around in those days ... prone to violence. I was monitoring their activities," he told the Sunday Mail last week.
Mr Van Blarcom, who was called an anarchist in the 1970s and 80s when he ran Planet Press, which published a left-leaning satirical newspaper, refused to comment on the photograph last night, other than to cite the article detailing his work as an underground security operative. "That's the story and I am not making any further comment," he said.
National Party state director Roger Harcourt told The Australian Mr Van Blarcom had been working as an undercover agent or operative at the time, which required him to be associated with such groups in the course of his duties.
"It would be quite natural when Mr Van Blarcom was working as an undercover agent to be put in positions where he would be photographed in the uniform. That would be required as part of his underground duties.
"I am not going to say where it was. Innocence should be presumed. We are seeing a feeding frenzy of the media based on a total reversal of our system of justice."
Mr Harcourt said Mr Van Blarcom had given great service to the community and his life should not be ruined by anonymous allegations.
He said Mr Van Blarcom would not be dropped as a candidate unless someone could prove him "guilty of something other than serving his nation. If they can do that we would have to reconsider our position".
National Party senator Ron Boswell said he had never come across Mr Van Blarcom until he appeared in the Whitsundays.
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