The prince, the pauper, perp and other Patriots in the Trumpet
Major political parties run thorough checks on their candidates, and would not generally choose a candidate who faced criminal charges or held a criminal record. They also steer clear of candidates who have been struck off as company directors.
Repeated attempts to contact the party's media spokesman, Andrew Crook, were not returned.
But other Trumpet candidates include Gabrial Pennicott, a 'devoted Christian, family man and community leader' and former conman who was extradited from Canada in 2011 and spent three years in jail. The Gold Coast businessman is also discharged bankrupt and banned from practising in the financial services industry by the Australian Financial Securities Association.
In South Australia, Mark Aldridge resigned from the party on Tuesday over its spam text messages, but had been recruited despite being banned from holding a firearm in 2017 for threatening to shoot hoon drivers. In Victoria, Milton Wilde is a former bankrupt who has since staved off two further attempts to bankrupt him. Even party leader Suellen Marree Wrightson has been guilty of mid-range drink-driving, though no conviction was recorded.
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Allan Taruste, a Woy Woy pastor and IT specialist who has been convicted of nine driving offences mostly involving either failing to stop or stopping in the wrong place, said his background had been checked by Trumpet of Patriots staff and they were aware of his past.
'My speeding tickets have all been sorted,' he said. 'I haven't killed anyone or anything like that.'
He said he was chosen as a candidate after responding to an advertisement by Clive Palmer, and will be campaigning on nuclear energy and gender identity issues.
Then there is David Sarikaya, a convicted fraudster and former bankrupt who the Health Care Complaints Commission [HCCC] warned the public in 2023 may be providing counselling services despite being the subject of a prohibition order.
Sarikaya's biography was removed from the Trumpet of Patriots website on Tuesday and he told the Herald he was not allowed to talk to the media, though no ban appears to have been placed on his social media activity. On Tuesday, he alleged on Facebook that journalists from the Herald and the ABC were part of a joint criminal enterprise and engaged in a 'media assassination plot'.
His allegations followed questions from the media about his bona fides. This masthead's chief investigative reporter, Kate McClymont, queried the vetting processes for Trumpet of Patriot candidates on social media last week, pointing out that he had previously called her a 'vile and rotten person' who was likely to receive a visit from Azrael, the angel of death.
He responded: 'This WOMBAT is a blood sucking leech and certifiably crazy!' He has since encouraged anyone who had been affected by her reporting to give him a call, specifically mentioning nightclub owner and self-described 'King of the Cross' John Ibrahim.
Sarikaya, also known as David Kaye, was banned by the HCCC from providing mental health services in 2016 after he was found to have falsely held himself out to be a psychologist. He bought his PhD for $250 from the American College of Metaphysical Theology.
But Sarikaya accused the HCCC of a 'protracted racially motivated character assassination campaign' in a letter to the NSW Premier Chris Minns last year, in which he also described himself as a member of the Labor Party.
It is an accusation that may resonate with his fellow candidate Ganesh Loke, who sued the Department of Education in 2015 for racial discrimination after a video he had prepared as a teacher at Birrong Boys High School was not selected to be shown at the school assembly, and because he had been placed on a teacher improvement program. The claim was dismissed.
Loke describes himself as an entrepreneur, actor, movie producer, educator and social activist, and is campaigning for affordable housing, public transport upgrades and better access to healthcare in Parramatta.
He has also taken action against two real estate agencies and a hair replacement clinic.
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