Senator Fraser Anning has said he doesn’t regret physically lashing out at the teenage boy who publicly egged him and claims he had ‘defended’ himself.
Anning, 69, has been widely criticised for slapping 17-year-old Will Connolly, who cracked an egg on the politician’s head during a Conservative National Party Meeting in Moorabbin, Melbourne on Saturday.
The embattled senator addressed the incident on the Kyle and Jackie O Show on Monday morning saying his reaction is what ‘most sensible people would do.’
‘You know it was a bit of a shock, someone hitting you from behind. A bit of a cowardly thing to do, to whack you in the back of the head,’ Fraser told the hosts.
‘I turned around and defended myself, I think that’s what most people, most sensible people would do.’
Jackie pointed out that Anning’s initial reaction appeared to be instinctive but questioned if he had realised the boy’s age when he went to strike him for a second time.
Senator Fraser Anning has defended physically lashing out at the teenage boy who publicly egged him on Saturday saying it’s what ‘most sensible people would do’
A man has been tackled by members of the public after egging controversial Senator Fraser Anning
‘That’s why I only gave him a slap, Jackie. Which is probably what his mum should’ve done long ago. Poorly behaved like that, he should’ve had a few more lessons at home,’ he replied.
When asked if he was bothered that the boy was receiving praise for his actions, Anning said: ‘No, it doesn’t worry me too much. People have their own opinions, they have the right to express them, they just don’t have the right to attack you.
‘I’m sure he will be [reprimanded], yeah. He needs to be, otherwise he’ll grow up to be a person who’ll do it again and again, probably. If he thinks he can get away with it.’
The boy’s attack seemed to be in response to Anning’s controversial tweet following the New Zealand mass shooting on Friday in which he linked Muslim immigration to violence in the country.
During the interview, Fraser said he did in fact condemn the shooting but maintained that countries with Muslim immigration have seen an increase of ‘terrorist attacks’ and violence.
‘A lot of people have been listening to the left-wing media, in my press release I’ve utterly opposed any form of violence in the community and totally condemned the actions of the gunman,’ he said.
The man then slams an egg on to the back of the Senator’s head who spins his body and takes a swipe at the youngster
Will Connolly, 17, (pictured) cracked an egg on Senator Anning in a press conference in Melbourne on Saturday and filmed it for the world to see
The young man was removed from the event by Victoria Police (pictured)
‘All I’ve said is that countries that have Muslim immigration invariably have escalation in violence and terrorist attacks and murders.
‘And we don’t learn from countries who have allowed this indiscriminate immigration, which is what we have in this country.’
Anning repeated his comments in a press conference on Monday and claimed his words had been ‘taken out of context.’
His remarks had been branded as ‘disgusting,’ but Anning told reporters, ‘I see nothing disgusting about stating the facts.’
The Queensland senator also hit out at Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who criticised his remarks, and branded him a hypocrite for ‘funding countries’ who ‘support terrorism.’
Anning’s comments have resulted in a petition calling for his resignation which now has more than one million signatures.
Anning released a statement on Friday, claiming the growing fear of the ‘increasing Muslim presence’ was behind the New Zealand terror attack – which left 49 worshippers dead.
A short scuffle ensued before the man was tackled to the ground by other members of the public
Attendees of the event held the young man on the ground after the physical altercation
Mr Anning has been slammed by politicians for his extremist stance, as Australians pay their respects to the victims of terrorist attack (pictured: man who egged Anning)
The right-wing politician has been slammed by his peers for his extremist stance, while other Australians paid their respects to the victims of terrorist attack.
Video footage from Saturday’s event shows the young man approach Anning from behind, as he speaks in front of a camera.
The man, who films the altercation, then slams an egg on to the back of the Senator’s head who spins his body and takes a swipe at the youngster.
A short scuffle ensued before the man was tackled to the ground by other members of the public.
An image from the event shows the man walked from the venue by police.
The 17-year-old was arrested after he allegedly egged Senator Anning but has since been released pending further enquiries.
A video has emerged of men believed to be right-wing cronies filming themselves apparently choking the man who threw the egg.
The footage films the man’s face up-close as he’s appeared to be held down by the neck.
The men can then be heard hurling abuse at him.
‘You are nothing but a weak human being you p****,’ one man can be heard saying.
A Change.org petition calling for Mr Anning to be removed from parliament has been signed over 250,000 times
SENATOR FRASER ANNING’S FULL STATEMENT
New Zealand Mosque Shooting
Speaking following reports of multiple shootings at two Mosques in New Zealand earlier today, Senator Fraser Anning has responded with strong condemnation.
‘I am utterly opposed to any form of violence within our community, and I totally condemn the actions of the gunman,’ he said.
‘However, whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence.
‘As always, left-wing politicians and the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with gun laws or those who hold nationalist views but this is all cliched nonsense.
Anning has sparked outrage after blaming immigration for the mosque shootings in New Zealand
‘The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.
‘Let us be clear, while Muslims may have been the victims today, usually they are the perpetrators. World-wide, Muslims are killing people in the name of their faith on an industrial scale.
‘The entire religion of Islam is simply the violent ideology of a sixth century despot masquerading as a religious leader, which justifies endless war against anyone who opposes it and calls for the murder of unbelievers and apostates.
‘The truth is that Islam is not like any other faith. It is the religious equivalent of fascism. And just because the followers of this savage belief were not the killers in this instance, does not make them blameless.
‘As we read in Matthew 26:52, ‘all they that take the sword, shall perish by the sword’ and those who follow a violent religion that calls on them to murder us, cannot be too surprised when someone takes them at their word and responds in kind,’ Senator Anning concluded.
While another concerned member of the group appears to tell his friends to ‘let him go’.
A Change.org petition calling for Mr Anning to be removed from parliament was released stating: ‘Senator Fraser Anning has no place in the government of our democratic and multicultural country.
‘We request that he be expelled from his position as Senator, and investigated by law enforcement agencies for supporting right wing terrorism.
‘We call on the Australian government to expel this man who blames victims for their own violent deaths, and uses references to genocide to further his hateful agenda,’ the petition says.
‘There is no place in Australian government for Neo-Nazis. There is no place for bigotry. There is no place for hate speech.’
Politicians have roundly condemned Mr Anning for his comments.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also hit out at the independent senator’s comments in a tweet on Friday.
‘The remarks by Senator Fraser Anning blaming the murderous attacks by a violent, right-wing, extremist terrorist in New Zealand on immigration are disgusting. These views have no place in Australia, let alone in the Australian Parliament.’
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke told the ABC ‘the normalisation of bigotry is something that is not only confined to him’.
‘We need to call it out, we need to make sure that no way any member of parliament fosters it. He wants the conflict and he wants the notoriety,’ he said on Saturday.
‘He was put there as the result of being on the One Nation ticket. One Nation is the reason he is there.’
Opposition leader Bill Shorten also voiced his anger at Anning’s comments.
‘While families in Christchurch mourn for loved ones they’ve lost, an obscure Australian senator saw this act of terrorism and tragedy as an opportunity to blame the murder victims,’ he tweeted.
Mehreen Faruqi, the first Muslim woman elected to federal parliament, named Senator Anning and Pauline Hanson as politicians who target Muslims.
‘There is blood on the hands of politicians who incite hate. To me, there is a clear link between their politics of hate and this sickening, senseless violence in Christchurch,’ she tweeted.
Senator Anning, who was kicked out of the Katter’s Australian Party, sparked a deluge of negative reactions on Friday, with people immediately condemning him on social media.
‘White supremacy (your ideology) killed these people. Shut the f*** up and have some respect,’ one person wrote on Twitter.
‘Resign. You do not deserve to stand representative of the Australian people,’ another person said.
A third person added: ‘You are an embarrassment to humanity’.
In a follow-up statement, Senator Anning said he opposed to any form of violence within our community and totally condemned the actions of the gunman.
‘What it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence,’ he said.