Malcolm Turnbull has been slammed on Twitter with his appearance on Q&A branded ‘arrogant’ and ‘condescending’ by viewers.
The prime minister had been expected to cruise through his appearance on the panel show after delivering marriage equality last week.
But Mr Turnbull engaged in a number of heated debates and even sighed audibly at one member of the audience on Monday, news.com.au reports.
One Twitter user said the appearance was a ‘total trainwreck’ for Mr Turnbull.
Viewers slammed Malcolm Turnbull’s appearance on Q&A calling it ‘arrogant’ and ‘condescending’
Another said while he ‘could have opted for gracious, went for smart-arsed.’
‘Turnbull tells every questioner they are wrong,’ another added. ‘Mal-splaining won’t save you.’
Another said: ‘The PM’s courtroom showmanship makes him look like a complete and utter tosser.’
‘Tell me how I’ve disappointed you?’ Mr Turnbull asked a woman named Olivia who told him she’d voted for him, but was disappointed by his performance.
‘We live in a representative democracy, why take it to a plebiscite?’ she said, referencing the same-sex marriage postal survey.
Mr Turnbull engaged in a number of heated debates and even sighed audibly at one member of the audience on Monday
‘You can represent us and just change that immediately without wasting $126 million.’
Mr Turnbull pointedly replied: ‘Did I promise to give everyone their say? I did. So I kept my promise.’
Later, he got into another argument with a woman, reportedly lawyer Teela Reid, over recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution.
Although he vowed to not give up on recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution, he doubled down on his opposition to a ‘third chamber’ advising parliament.
The prime minister insisted he does not want to kick recognition ‘into the long grass’, preferring to look closely at recommendations from a May summit of indigenous leaders at Uluru.
In October, the Turnbull government rejected the referendum council’s report on constitutional recognition calling for an indigenous voice to parliament.
One Twitter user described the prime minister as a ‘contemptuous, intellectual bully’
‘An assembly of the kind that was proposed would be in effect a third chamber of parliament,’ Mr Turnbull ABC TV’s Q&A.
‘I don’t believe our parliament should have any chambers other than the two that it does, the House and the Senate, and they are open to all Australians.’
He said the Uluru declaration for a constitutionally enshrined voice in parliament was one of many recommendations on the subject.
‘I do not believe what would in effect be a third chamber of parliament available only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is consistent with our constitution,’ Mr Turnbull said.
Ms Reid asked: ‘Why won’t you respect out proposal to take it to a referendum and put it to the people like you put marriage equality to the people?’
She noted that polls show almost two-thirds of Australians support the proposal.
But Mr Turnbull insisted the proposal would have ‘no prospect whatsoever’ of being successful at a referendum.
‘As someone who has had some experience in how easy it is to change the Australian Constitution, it would have no prospect of success whatsoever,’ he told her.
‘People that don’t tell you the truth are misleading you, what I’m telling you is the truth.’