‘I got a bit too passionate’: David Koch admits he overreacted to Pauline Hanson on Sunrise as 128,000 sign a petition calling for him to be sacked
- Sunrise host David Koch admitted was ‘a bit too passionate’ with Pauline Hanson
- Seven Network star clashed with One Nation party founder after Christchurch
- He claimed her policies read like accused gunman’s anti-Muslim manifesto
- Koch told Sydney radio 2GB’s Chris Smith why he reacted the way he did
David Koch has admitted he overreacted to Pauline Hanson in a heated Sunrise interview after the Christchurch massacre.
The Seven Network star accused the One Nation founder of ’empowering’ white supremacists, days after an Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant allegedly shot dead 50 Muslims at mosques in New Zealand.
In a heated live morning TV interview last week, he claimed One Nation’s policy platform calling for a ban on Muslim immigration read like the accused terrorist’s 74-page manifesto.
David Koch (pictured in Sydney 2GB radio studio) has admitted he overreacted to Pauline Hanson in a heated Sunrise interview after the Christchurch massacre
With a change.org petition calling for his sacking now amassing more than 128,000 signatures, Koch admitted he went a bit too far with Senator Hanson.
‘We had a robust discussion last week,’ he told Sydney radio 2GB broadcaster Chris Smith on Tuesday.
‘I probably got a bit too passionate after she, sort of, challenged me that I didn’t talk to people in the western suburbs or talk to anyone who’s Muslim.’
The television personality, who runs the Koch Centre for Youth and Learning at Macquarie Fields, in Sydney’s south-west, with Catholic priest Chris Riley, said he was in close contact with Muslim youth.
He added Senator Hanson’s rhetoric fuelled tensions in the suburbs.
The Seven Network star accused the One Nation founder of ’empowering’ white supremacists, days after an Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant allegedly shot dead 50 Muslims at mosques in New Zealand
‘Don’t stop expressing them, but don’t be as aggressive because words fuel this sort of conflict in our community,’ he said.
‘We support a number of Muslim youth workers and teams who are dealing at the coalface of this issue in Bankstown and Punchbowl and all of those areas out there trying to connect with disenfranchised Muslim youth.’
Koch last week reacted badly to Senator Hanson’s suggestion he didn’t ‘actually know what’s happening’ and on Tuesday admitted to Smith he wasn’t on the One Nation leader’s Christmas card list.