Anderson resigns and apologises for tweets
Bunyip man John Anderson, accused last week of posting offensive tweets on his Twitter account, has resigned from a number of voluntary board positions including some that were government appointments.
While not denying the tweets, Mr Anderson told The Gazette that he was sincerely apologetic if any comments he made on social media may have offended.
He has resigned from the boards of Latrobe Regional Hospital, the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, Victorian Healthcare Association, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and AFL Gippsland.
He had also previously been a member of the West Gippsland Healthcare Group board of management.
Mr Anderson has been prominent in the Australian Labor Party for a number of years contesting seats for the party at State elections in 2002, 2006 and 2014.
He said he could only speculate that given his political background that an initial media report (in a Melbourne daily newspaper) may have been politically motivated.
Mr Anderson said he had submitted resignations in writing on Tuesday and Wednesday last week (the newspaper article appeared on Thursday) to ensure the article did not reflect badly on the boards mentioned.
He said he wanted to make it clear that he had served on a number of government boards under both LiberalNational Party and Labor Governments and he had been honoured to serve the community in those various roles.
“I intend to continue to serve my community to the best of my ability …. those who know me would be aware the article does not express who I am”.
Mr Anderson thanked colleagues and friends that had called offering support.
The tweets were described by Health Minister Jill Hennessy, to whom the Latrobe Regional Hospital Board reports, as “offensive and distasteful” and said Mr Anderson agreed to her request that he resign from the board.