A supporter of Kurdish forces has warned people not to talk about Northern Territory Labor Party official Matthew Gardiner, who has left Australia to fight against Islamic State. Mr Gardiner, 43, recently resigned as secretary of the United Voice union, and on Sunday was stood down as president of the NT branch of the Labor Party and had his membership suspended, after the ABC revealed he had left the country to fight with a Kurdish militia. In a thread on Mr Gardiners Facebook page, a woman named Kader Kadandir, whose own page is full of photos of Kurdish fighters and messages of support for Syrian Kurdish group the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), berated those who had talked about the Labor official. What idiot has spoken about Matthew??!!!! Ms Kadandir asked in the early hours of Monday morning. As friends wrote in and asked Mr Gardiner to return home, Ms Kadandir warned that the police would arrest him. Being arrested is the better choice. I would hate to see him in an orange jump suit, said one reply, in an apparent reference to the attire worn by foreign captives of Islamic State in videos of them being executed. Tell him to come please before he gets in strife, said one man. He hasnt been in shape and will get cut down in no time at all. He has a wife and kids here in Australia that need him. Do the right thing and turn him back home please. There was no response from Mr Gardiner. It is not known when Mr Gardiner left Australia to travel but a source who knows him told the ABC that he removed most of his political friends from his Facebook page and became uncontactable less than two weeks ago. Shorten calls on Gardiner to come home Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten said Mr Gardiner obviously felt very strongly about fighting Islamic State, but that travelling to Syria was the wrong way to go about it. Lets find out that hes safe and get him home, Mr Shorten told Fairfax Radio. His family will be, I think, going through quite a bit of shock and confusion, so I dont know what has triggered this event but he needs to come home. The Federal Government estimates about 90 Australians have gone to Syria to fight with Islamic State, an organisation that seeks to create an Islamic nation, or caliphate, led by a religious authorities. Last year the Government passed the Foreign Fighters Legislation, which are designed to stop Australians fighting overseas, and in December Foreign Minister Julie Bishop declared it an offence for Australians to visit the Al-Raqqa province in Syria without a legitimate reason. Australians found to be illegally visiting the region could face a prison term of up to 10 years. It is understood that the Australian Federal Police are investigating Mr Gardiners possible involvement in the Middle East. Mr Gardiner was formerly a combat engineer with the Australian Defence Force, where he was involved with demolitions, landmine disposal and field construction, and later became a registered nurse working at the emergency department of the Royal Darwin Hospital. It was while working for the Australian Nursing Federation that Mr Gardiner became more involved in the union movement. Hes a good bloke, NT Labor leader says The leader of the Northern Territory Labor Party, Delia Lawrie, said she had not seen Mr Gardiner since before Christmas. Ive obviously worked with him for years. Hes a good bloke, Ms Lawrie said on Monday. I cant believe the reports are true. I dont know. But if they are, we just want him home safe, she said. NT Chief Minister Adam Giles said Ms Lawrie had unsuccessfully supported Mr Gardiner in a preselection contest for the recent Casuarina by-election. The Opposition Leaders pick to be the Member for Casuarina has jumped ship out of the Labor Party and left them leaderless, much the same as the Opposition has been for quite some time, Mr Giles said.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 06:46:22 +0000
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