Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker has slammed ABC presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied for social media comments made on Anzac Day.
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Ms Abdel-Magied courted controversy on Tuesday after publishing a Facebook post saying: “LEST. WE. FORGET. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine …)".
She later deleted the latter part of the post referencing Manus, Nauru, Syria and Palestine, but the post has stirred a wave of online vitriol.
Mr Hartsuyker called the post “disgraceful” and called on the ABC to “reconsider” Ms Abdel-Magied’s employment.
“Ms Abdel-Magried displayed terrible judgment with her post on social media,” Mr Hartsuyker said.
“She made the issue worse with her response, saying ‘it was brought to my attention that my last post was disrespectful’.”
“If she needs to be told that her comments were unacceptable, she clearly has no understanding of Australian values and the ABC should reconsider her position on the taxpayer-funded network. Quite frankly, I think a lot of Australians are completely disgusted that their hard-earned tax dollars are used to pay her income, particularly as this is not her first outlandish statement.
“It’s worth remembering that Ms Abdel-Magried only enjoys the freedoms to air her ridiculous opinions because of the sacrifices of Australia’s Diggers – the very people she sought to relegate to the background with her ill-advised comments.”
“Anzac Day is about commemorating the service and sacrifice of generations of Australian servicemen and women,” Mr Hartsuyker said.
“It is Australia’s most solemn day of remembrance. More than 100,000 Australians have given their lives defending our way of life. Many more have suffered physical and mental scars as a result of their service on our behalf.
“Anzac Day is not about grandstanding. It is not about politics. It is not about personal opinions or religious arguments. On Anzac Day we stand side by side united as Australians: Left and right, white and black, male and female, young and old, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or atheist.
An ABC spokesman said Abdel-Magied has apologised for the part of her Facebook post people found offensive.