Australian Sen. Fraser Anning was censured by the country’s Senate on Wednesday local time, after he blamed Muslims immigration for the shootings that killed 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, N.Z. last month.
In the wake of the shootings, Anning tweeted, “Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?”
WATCH: March 25 — ‘Egg Boy’ reveals why he smashed an egg on controversial Australian lawmaker
He also issued a statement in which he said, “the real cause of the bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.”
Anning subsequently became the subject of a viral video after teen William Connolly cracked a raw egg on the back of his head.
Connolly, who would come to be known as “Egg Boy,” then took a swing from Anning before someone else tackled him to the ground.
READ MORE: Australian senator egged after blaming Muslim immigration for New Zealand mosque attack
Lawmakers nearly voted unanimously to censure him in the Senate chamber on Wednesday — no one voted in opposition, but members of Anning’s former party One Nation abstained from the vote, with Sen. Peter Georgiou comparing the proceedings to a “public flogging,” reported The Guardian.
The bipartisan motion was moved by Mathias Cormann, a Liberal Party member and leader of the government in the Senate, and Penny Wong, Labor Party member and leader of the opposition.
Together, they described Anning’s comments as “inflammatory and divisive,” as recounted by the Sydney Morning Herald.
WATCH: March 27 — New Zealand Shooting: Jacinda Ardern visits city where shooter lived
“Hate speech cannot be defended on the grounds of freedom of speech because it is an attack on our democracy, because it inflicts real and direct harm,” Wong said.
Muslim Sen. Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the Green Party, called Anning an “absolute disgrace.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself and you should resign,” she said.
Anning’s remarks drew particularly strong condemnation from Sarah Hanson Young, a Green Party member.
“You are a disgrace,” she said.
“And don’t smile at me, don’t smile at the rest of us. People lost their lives and you think it’s a joke.”
Responding to the censure motion, Anning called it an “exercise in left-wing virtue-signalling of the worst kind.”
“What inflammatory and divisive comments, Mr. President?” he asked.
“What blame did I attribute to the victims? I said nothing of the sort.”
READ MORE: ‘Egg Boy’ doubles down on ‘hero’ status, to donate money to New Zealand mosque attack victims
The motion doesn’t actually carry any particular consequence, the Herald noted.
A Green motion to suspend Anning from the Senate failed, with 40 votes against and 10 in favour.
Comments