Mark Latham under fire over "disgusting" homophobic tweet
Mark Latham has been condemned by both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and One Nation senator Pauline Hanson for a "disgusting" homophobic tweet.
The One Nation NSW leader took aim at independent MP Alex Greenwich, an openly gay man, who was discussing the recent violent protest at St Michael's Church in Sydney's west which saw members of the LGBTQIA+ community be attacked by religious extremists.
More than a dozen LGBTQIA+ protesters were ambushed by hundreds of men outside an event at the church where Mr Latham spoke about parental rights and religious freedom.
In an article Mr Greenwich called Mr Latham a "disgusting human being" who risks causing a "great deal of damage to our state".
Latham was quick to respond on Twitter, saying "That's disgusting?" What about..." followed by a graphic and homophobic comment that OverSixty has chosen not to publish.
Mr Greenwich said he didn't want to directly respond to the now-deleted tweet.
"I understand this tweet has been taken down, and I don't intend to engage with the matter further," he said in a statement.
"My focus in the parliament will be working with the majority of members who support the LGBTQ community to progress important reforms."
One Nation founder and leader Pauline Hanson said she and her party associates did not condone the remarks and she has asked Mr Latham to apologise publicly.
"I think (the comments) are disgusting," she said in a video on Facebook.
"I've actually tried to ring Mark a couple of times to no avail and I have clearly sent a text message to him telling him my views."
Anthony Albanese also condemned Latham's comments, telling 10 News "hateful speech" is never warranted and added nothing to public disclosure.
"I am concerned that with social media we seem to have a circumstance whereby people would say things through various applications they'd never say to someone face to face and we know that can be very hurtful and it can have drastic consequences."
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