The LNP candidate for Longman made an innocent mistake and is very embarrassed about falsely claiming to have a prestigious military medal, Malcolm Turnbull says.
Trevor Ruthenberg has been forced to apologise to voters in the crucial Queensland federal seat after he incorrectly claimed to have a medal for distinguished service in peacekeeping and non-war operations.
He hopes voters will believe he made a simple mistake in a biography he wrote about himself in 2012.
Mr Ruthenberg says he has a lesser medal, recognising his service in the air force, and he simply wrote down the wrong medal name.
"I'm not a military impostor. I did serve in the military," Mr Ruthenberg told ABC radio on Tuesday morning.
He later told reporters he had also apologised to the defence community and to the prime minister for any damage he might have done to the government's chances of taking Longman from Labor at this month's by-election.
"This is not the sort of front-page news that the prime minister wants to see," he said but added he would not pull out of the race.
"I'm standing here saying that this is my fault, this is my mistake. I've apologised."
Mr Turnbull said he accepted the candidate's explanation.
"He misdescribed a medal he'd received for his service in the air force ... As he said, he screwed up. He's fessed up but it was an honest mistake."
Campaigning in Longman on Tuesday, Mr Ruthenberg's Labor opponent, Susan Lamb, refused to attack him directly over the issue, saying it would be up to the voters of Longman to form their own views.
"There are questions for Trevor about whether it was an honest mistake or not but they're for Trevor," Ms Lamb told reporters at Caboolture Hospital.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he had his own views about whether it was an honest mistake.
"In my experience, most people know what they got their military medals for," he said.
Mr Ruthenberg said he was solely responsible for the error in his Queensland parliamentary biography, which was penned shortly after he was elected as part of Campbell Newman's government.
The biography says he holds the Australian Service Medal, which is presented by the governor-general on the recommendation of the Chief of the Defence Force.
In fact, he holds the Australian Defence Medal, which merely recognises four years of service.
Mr Ruthenberg said he would never intentionally claim a medal he was not entitled to and local RSL presidents and Vietnam veterans had accepted his apology.
Mr Ruthenberg is trying to win Longman at the July 28 poll after Ms Lamb was forced to quit parliament over the dual-citizenship saga.
She is recontesting the seat.
Australian Associated Press
