Senators, NZ’s Deputy PM lashes out at ‘moron’ Anning
Fraser Anning (left) has been called a 'jingoistic moron' by Winston Peters. Photos: AAP
Senator Fraser Anning has been slammed in Parliament, with a senior cabinet minister savaging him for lacking basic humanity after the Christchurch mosque massacres.
Senator Anning’s comments after the Christchurch shootings were condemned by the Coalition and Labor.
The senator was also egged by 17-year-old Will Connolly at a meeting in Melbourne on the Saturday following the terror attacks.
Senator Anning has repeatedly stood by his statements, calling the coming censure vote against him a “blatant attack on free speech”.
On Tuesday, the Coalition and Labor united in the Senate to express condolences to the victims of the mosque massacres.
Government Senate leader Mathias Cormann led the speeches, a little more than a fortnight after 50 people were killed in the terror attack.
“To all those still grieving for their lost loved ones or recovering from injuries sustained on that grim afternoon, the thoughts and prayers of this parliament, and the people that it serves, are with you,” he said.
Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong said Australia stood with New Zealanders in a time of sadness and sorrow, while also rejecting extremism and hatred.
“Above all, let us all choose love, not hate, and in doing so we make our nation stronger at home and in the world,” she said.
Senator Anning did not speak to the motion and left the chamber during the speeches.
But the Queenslander used Senate Question Time to quiz the government about its response to a teenager cracking an egg on his head, which prompted physical retaliation from the 69-year-old.
Acting government Senate leader Simon Birmingham delivered a brutal takedown of Senator Anning, backing Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s comments that he should face the full face of the law for lashing out at the boy.
“The way you have conducted yourself in the time since betrays the rights you have to freedom of speech,” Senator Birmingham said.
“The lack of compassion you have shown demonstrates, frankly, a basic lack of basic humanity.”
The Senate will vote on Wednesday on a motion to censure the Queensland senator after he blamed the March 15 terror attacks on Muslim immigration.
Senator Birmingham said Senator Anning had acted in a way that would potentially fuel more acts of terrorism and violence.
“You have failed the test of character I would expect of anybody who is elected to this place.”
The cabinet minister said Senator Anning had made an “appalling comparison” by comparing the egging to his own comments.
New Zealand’s deputy prime minister had earlier labelled Senator Fraser Anning a “jingoistic moron”, following his comments on the Christchurch mosque shootings.
Winston Peters, New Zealand’s outspoken deputy and current acting PM, also called for Australia to change its political system to keep similar figures out.
But before that vote, Mr Peters had some criticisms of his own.
“I could call him a four-flushing, jingoistic moron, but you already know that in Australia,” Mr Peters told Sky News on Tuesday.
“He is a national, absolute, democratic aberration. We all know why he’s there. He’s there by pure accident. It means you have to clean up your political system to avoid that sort of person making it into politics.”
Asked earlier about Senator Anning’s remarks, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described them as “a disgrace”.
Also on Tuesday, meanwhile, New Zealand’s parliament is expected to nearly unanimously agree on a first vote on stricter gun laws proposed in response to the shootings.
Brenton Tarrant, the 28-year-old Australian charged over the attacks, will next appear in court in New Zealand on Friday.
-with AAP