PM accused of 'failure of leadership' after George Christensen calls for embassy protests over COVID-19 restrictions - ABC News

Labor has accused the Prime Minister of demonstrating a "complete and utter failure of leadership" after government backbencher George Christensen called for rallies outside Australian embassies to protest against coronavirus restrictions.

Key points:

• Federal Labor has called for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to rein in George Christensen
• Mr Christensen urged viewers of a right-wing conspiracy theorist web series to protest over coronavirus restrictions outside Australian embassies
• Mr Christensen has been a prolific and vocal opponent of coronavirus restrictions

Mr Christensen, who is retiring at the next election, has been a frequent and vocal critic of pandemic controls, prolifically posting on social media to voice his opposition to lockdowns and vaccinations.

Last month he used a speech in federal parliament to liken state and territory COVID-19 restrictions to the totalitarian regimes of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, calling for civil disobedience as a response.

His latest comments were featured on the Infowars web series hosted by far-right American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been largely banned from social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for violating hate speech policies. 

Catch up on the main COVID-19 news from December 6 with a look back at our blog

During the 35-minute video show, Mr Christensen urged viewers to protest outside Australian embassies.

"The rest of the free world, please stand with us, please support us, and every time we see people out there protesting, whether it be in front of an embassy or elsewhere, protesting for our rights in Australia, it really does embolden the patriots, the people who are for freedom in our country to stand up," he said.

Christensen facing renewed criticism

Outspoken Coalition backbencher George Christensen has used a speech in federal parliament to liken state and territory COVID-19 restrictions to the despotic regimes of Nazi Germany and Cambodia, calling for civil disobedience as a response.

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In one instance, Mr Christensen laughed when Jones compared Australian COVID-19 quarantine facilities with Auschwitz because they both had "big fences".

In another, Mr Jones described footage of the police presence at anti-vaccination protests around the country as the "Australian version of Tiananmen Square", a 1989 massacre where the People's Liberation Army of China opened fire on unarmed protesters.

Mr Christensen replied: "Yeah, I think that the good news is though that we have that many citizen journalists at the moment … getting the truth out to people."

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Prime Minister Scott Morrison urgently needed to rein Mr Christensen in.

"These are dangerous views being pushed by dangerous people and Scott Morrison doesn't have a peep to say about it," he said.

"This is a complete and utter failure of leadership by Scott Morrison."

Neither Mr Christensen's office nor the Prime Minister's office responded to the ABC's request for comment.

The office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals' leader Barnaby Joyce said he was in the United Kingdom and unavailable for comment.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTEyLTA2L2dlb3JnZS1jaHJpc3RlbnNlbi1jYWxscy1mb3ItY292aWQtcHJvdGVzdHMtb24tY29uc3BpcmFjeS1zaXRlLzEwMDY3ODQyMNIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDA2Nzg0MjA?oc=5

2021-12-06 12:46:35Z
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