MP’s Dirty Harry-style post backfires
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is dealing with another scandal involving a member of the junior coalition party after Queensland National MP George Christensen posted an image on Facebook of himself with a pistol and a Dirty Harry- style message for the Greens.
“You gotta ask yourself, do you feel lucky, greenie punks?” reads the caption to the post, which has been removed after complaints. It was posted about 24 hours after Thursday’s school shooting in Florida left 17 people dead.
Christensen refused to accept there was anything wrong with the photo and caption but the post led to a complaint to federal police by the Australian Greens.
Christensen says it was a flippant comment that had left the Greens “wringing their hands and crying”.
Turnbull, still dealing with the fallout from a stoush with National leader Barnaby Joyce, faced more questions yesterday about the messages being sent out by the Nationals.
“It was very inappropriate and he took it down after he was spoken to about it,” Turnbull told 3AW radio.
Warren Entsch, an MP from Turnbull’s Liberal Party, was far more blunt. “I think it was bloody stupid,” he said.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale has referred the post to federal police while Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has lodged her own complaint over a death threat she received from someone she believes is a supporter of Christensen.
Di Natale said Turnbull should force Christensen to resign.