Liberal Party Rift Emerges After Candidate Axed for Calling Feminism ‘Demonic’

South Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic has issued a dire warning about his party’s chances at the upcoming state election after the dumping of candidate Carston Woodhouse.

The centre-right Liberal Party’s Woodhouse was supposed to run in the strong Labor seat of Wright at the March 21 state election.

Yet he was removed after appearing on the American religious “ElijahFire” podcast where he said “same sex isn’t real” and described feminism and homosexuality as “demonic.”

He also said Islam was “poisonous and wrong” and referred to the trans agenda as “insanity.”

South Australian state Liberal leader Ashton Hurn confirmed Woodhouse’s removal.

“I still maintain very strongly that people are entitled to have their view, that is not a problem for me. But what I am saying today is I didn’t support those views yesterday, I don’t support them today, and he is no longer the candidate,” Hurn told reporters.

Woodhouse still remains in the employ of the Liberal Party.

“He’s got a contract, and contracts need to be abided by, and ultimately that’s a matter for HQ [Liberal headquarters], but he’s got a contract,” Hurn said.

Hurn confirmed the party would not run a candidate in the north-eastern Adelaide seat.

In response, federal Senator Antic called the news “very disappointing.”

“How can we claim to be the party of free speech, thought, worship and association when we continue to allow our people to be sacrificed to the swamp for voicing their views?” Antic said in the Senate.

“If this guy is disendorsed, or if he feels compelled to leave, we might as well shut the doors on this election with one week to go,” Antic said.

Tyler Green, who is the conservative-leaning One Nation’s candidate for Mawson suggested Antic should consider joining his party.

“With principles like this, I think we all know where Mr. Antic really belongs,” Green said on X.

Antic was recently seen having a beer with Cory Bernardi, now the leader of One Nation’s South Australian division. Bernardi was previously a Liberal Party senator who left to form the short-lived Australian Conservatives party.

His views overlap with Antic, who has crossed the floor several times to vote against the Liberal Party on matters like the under-16 social media ban, COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and anti-hate speech laws in response to the Bondi terrorist mass shooting.

Hurn Says Party United

South Australian Opposition Leader Hurn maintained there was unity in the party.

“When I became the leader I made it extraordinarily clear that I was a leader about unity and I was a leader about focussing on the important things. And that has been the entirety of my leadership and exactly what I’ve sought to focus on with my team for the duration of this campaign” Hurn said.

Hurn was elected leader of the Liberal Party on Dec. 8 2025, providing her with just three months to improve the party’s position ahead of the election.

She took over the leadership from Vincent Tarzia, and is the third Liberal leader since the 2022 state election. Former Liberal leader David Speirs resigned in August 2024 following cocaine supply allegations for which he was later convicted.

Meanwhile, the South Australian Labor Party said it was now “open warfare” in the party, while Labor Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said “it’s all out war in the SA Liberals then.”

The Liberal Party holds just 13 of the 47 seats in South Australia’s lower house and is facing a daunting challenge from a surging One Nation, which recently polled ahead of the Liberals in a Newspoll survey and Fox and Hedgehog poll.

Pre-polling for the state election began March 14.