Matt Martin yesterday told the Western Advocate he had shut down the expletive-laden feed because it was becoming a distraction as Labor seeks to unseat the Nationals’ Paul Toole.

He stressed the views expressed on the page – including labelling former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett a “homophobic c**khead” in one post and referring to “John F**king Howard” in another – were his own, and that was also made clear in a disclaimer on the page.

But the page became headline news this week after Orange City councillor Kevin Duffy – a former Labor candidate for the federal seat of Calare – pointed to it as evidence Mr Martin was unfit to hold the position of campaign manager.

Mr Martin has also made headlines for his involvement in an incident at a pre-polling station in Lithgow last week, though he has rejected any suggestion he behaved badly.

He yesterday accused the Nationals of running a smear campaign against him to draw voters’ attention away from the Coalition’s controversial plan to privatise 49 per cent of the state’s electricity network.

“My personal feed is my personal feed, I made it clear they were my views and I have always been known for my unvarnished comments on my own Twitter feed,” he said.

“But it became clear that the Nationals intended to use this to distract from the message we are trying to get out, so in service to the campaign and in the interests of trying to get on with the job of winning the seat of Bathurst on Saturday, I decided to take it down.”

Mr Martin said the decision to remove the page was his own and he said the NSW hierarchy in Sussex Street played no part.

And with just two days until polling day on Saturday, he said Ms Coleman’s campaign was progressing well “under difficult circumstances”.

“We always campaign to win and we traditionally have held this seat over the last 30-odd years,” Mr Martin said. “We have run a great grassroots campaign and we’re getting a great response from the people, which is why the Nationals have engaged in this sort of grubby stuff.

“There’s nothing nastier than a Nat on the run.”

A spokesperson for Sussex Street would not comment on Mr Martin’s Twitter feed, but did discredit Cr Duffy as a reliable source.

The spokesperson said Cr Duffy was a “disgruntled former candidate who has had internal charges brought against him relating to improper conduct” and was no longer a financial member of the Labor Party.