New PM turns the other cheek
Australia’s new prime minister, who is an evangelical Christian, said that he would ‘‘turn the other cheek’’ after the national broadcaster lampooned his beliefs.
‘‘The ABC [Australian Broadcasting Corporation] can be numpties every now and then but my faith teaches me to love each other and to turn the other cheek,’’ Scott Morrison said.
Two comedians took potshots at his pentecostal Christianity on the satirical television show Tonightly on Monday, singing: ‘‘You’ve got to love thy neighbour unless they vote Labor or are foreign or gay’’ and ‘‘if Jesus was a refugee we would say, ‘F*** off we’re full’’’.
Morrison became immigration minister in 2013 and implemented measures to deter asylum seekers, including forcing back boats and transporting those who landed in the country to camps on Pacific islands.
He also opposed legal recognition of gay marriage. The ABC said that the skit did not attack his religion and was satirical. Tom Ballard, the show’s host, introduced two comedians whom he passed off as a Christian rock band that regularly performed at Morrison’s Horizon church in Sydney.
The pair sang: ‘‘Jesus made the animals like kangaroos. And he also said to lock the kids up on Nauru./ I am Jesus’s son and I’m Jesus’s daughter and there’s nothing more Christian than closing the borders./ We love Jesus, Jesus, but not refugees, us; if you wanna win votes then you gotta stop boats.’’
The sketch drew complaints on
‘‘The ABC can be numpties every now and then but my faith teaches me to love each other and to turn the other cheek.’’
Scott Morrison, prime minister
social media, with one writer accusing ABC of having ridiculed the prime minister’s faith and another saying that the broadcaster should ‘‘hang its head in absolute shame’’.
Morrison said in his maiden speech to parliament a decade ago that his ‘‘personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda’’.
However, some influential Australians believe that there is a conflict between the prime minister’s faith and his government’s policies in relation to asylum seekers.