Leyonhjelm stands firm on Indigenous parody
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David Leyonhjelm has released a mock complaint form in reaction to the negative press he received for a video parody of Kevin Rudd’s apology speech.
The Liberal Democratic Party Senator appeared in a short video appropriating Rudd’s apology to the apparent failures of Labor and Liberal governments in the past.
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“At long last we acknowledge the mistreatment of Australian taxpayers, amongst the longest suffering peoples on this land,” he said in the video.
“We reflect, in particular, on the systematic punishment meted out to wealth creators and of the relentless grab of their hard-earned money.”
The Senator’s video borrowed both words and the sombre tone of Mr Rudd’s 2008 speech, which opened with: “We reflect on their past mistreatment, in particular the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations.”
Watch Mr Leyonhjelm’s parody apology below:
Mr Leyonhjelm highlighted taxpayer money mis-spent on middle class welfare and unsuccessful Aboriginal welfare, as well as questioning why Australia needed two million public servants.
The video outraged many on social media, with some calling it “really crass” and “unforgivable”.
Not one to back down, Mr Leyonhjelm on Tuesday offered Twitter followers a “complaint form”, in which they could tick boxes including: “Proved me wrong in front of my peers” and “Is a heteronormative cis white male scumlord”.
Under ‘resolutions’, users could tick whether they they got all their “dumb” friends to weigh in, or threatened not to vote for the Senator even though they “never would have” voted for him anyway.
The complaint form has been receiving mixed reviews on Twitter.
See the complaints form released by the Liberal Democrats below:
We’ve had a few complaints about our apology to taxpayers. Please complete our official complaints form. pic.twitter.com/PNizrGgsWp
— David Leyonhjelm (@DavidLeyonhjelm) June 7, 2016
Watch Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology to the stolen generation below:
@DavidLeyonhjelm What a goose! You don’t believe yourself, only trolling for the lunatic fringe votes. Society has moved past caveman days.
— Don Petersen (@DonCPetersen) June 6, 2016