A former Liberal upper house MP says anyone who knew about the Facebook trolling scandal in Port Stephens should be "kicked out of the party".
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Liberal candidate Jaimie Abbott and Hunter duty MLC Catherine Cusack became embroiled in the controversy in February when sitting MP Kate Washington asked Facebook and the Clerk of Parliament to investigate what she suspected were fake accounts being operated by one of Ms Cusack's staff members.
Ms Cusack launched a vigorous defence of her staffer, backing him "1000 per cent" and accusing Ms Washington of "bullying", "disgusting behaviour" and "false accusations".
But Ms Abbott was forced to apologise to Ms Washington on March 8 after Facebook deleted seven accounts connected to the staffer, including his own and Ms Abbott's.
The former Liberal parliamentary secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald, said on Sunday that the scandal had damaged Ms Abbott's chances in a marginal seat.
"It's silly stuff, poor judgment, and I think it's to be deeply regretted. I never want to see anything like that again," Mr MacDonald said.
"It comes down to leadership and your sense of responsibility, so there's no excuses there. The public look at that stuff and make their judgments about what's gone on."
Ms Washington enjoyed a three per cent swing in her favour to comfortably hold the seat, which at 4.7 per cent had been the most marginal Labor-held electorate in the Hunter before the vote. She said on Sunday that the Liberal party had "lost its moral compass" during the campaign. Mr MacDonald left Parliament on Saturday after losing a preselection battle with Ms Cusack last year and dropping down the party's ballot order.
One of the Facebook screen shots includes criticism of Mr MacDonald's record on the Mambo wetlands. On Monday, he doubled down on his criticism of anyone involved in the trolling scandal, especially in light of post-election comments by Ms Berejiklian about raising the standard of parliamentary behaviour.
"I believe anyone with knowledge of the Facebook trolling should be kicked out of the party," he said.
"There is no room for that sort of behaviour or anyone condoning that behaviour."
Ms Cusack said on March 8 that she had been "misled" and that her staff member's passion for politics had led him to "make this mistake".
She said on Monday that the individual had been used unfairly as a "pawn" during the campaign. But she did not want to comment further until she had seen the "full complaint" by Ms Washington, including screen shots of the Facebook comments trolling the Labor campaign.
Facebook said on March 8 that it had deleted seven profiles "for violation of our policies".
"We take a strong stand against people that attempt to mislead others about who they are or what they're doing," a spokesman said.
Ms Washington's complaint to the Clerk of Parliament said she had evidence that "strongly suggests" one of Ms Cusack's staff members had been "involved with, if not operating, fake Facebook profiles for the purposes of attacking me online and promoting my political opponent".
She said on Monday that the Department of Parliamentary Services had confirmed to her its investigation was ongoing. Ms Abbott said on Sunday that she was proud of her team's campaign and "no stone was left unturned".