Labor Candidate for Eden Monaro Mike Kelly's electoral chances were boosted last week by an outburst from the Chief of staff of sitting Member Gary Nairn's, at a forum on Iraq organised by Kelly in Queanbeyan.
Mr Peter Phelps had asked former Army Colonel Kelly if he compared his service in Iraq to "that of the guards at Belsen" and was he "taking the Nuremburg defence?"
Unknown to Kelly as Nairn's staffer, further discussion followed.
The comments would be deeply offensive to Defence personnel, of which many reside in Eden Monaro, and also run contrary to the Government's support for the war in Iraq.
The issue refused to fade from the media for several days, however Kelly has accepted the apology regarding his conduct. "I accept his apology. I want to move on and talk about the issues that matter to local working families like John Howard's extreme workplace laws and lack of investment in local infrastructure in our community," Mr Kelly said.
"I stand by my record of 20 years loyal service in the Australian Army" said Kelly. "I believe people should know who they're voting for and who they want to represent them in Parliament and am happy for my character to be tested.
"I'm proud to have served my country in Somalia, Bosnia, East Timor and Iraq alongside the other dedicated men and women of our armed forces" he said.
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