The target of a homophobic slur by one-time Labor leader turned One Nation MP Mark Latham has tweeted that he is now more motivated than ever to deliver long overdue LGBTIQA+ reforms.
The One Nation NSW leader’s offensive tweet was posted in response to an article in which Sydney independent MP Alex Greenwich called Mr Latham “a disgusting human being” after LGBTQI protesters were targeted outside an event where Mr Latham was speaking.
“Disgusting?” Mr Latham said, before disparagingly describing sexual acts in a mocking tone.
The tweet, posted on Thursday morning, was deleted within a few hours but not before several Twitter users took screenshots and reposted the comment.
Mr Greenwich initially said he would not comment, but later tweeted to say to “those wondering” that he was fine.
On Friday, he appeared on ABC’s News Breakfast, where he was asked if he believed Mr Latham was a “fit and proper person” to sit in the NSW parliament.
“I don’t want to begin to understand how Mark Latham’s mind works. In what I have observed of him, it’s that he is equal parts lazy as he is cruel,” he said.
“Today is Trans Day of Visibility and I encourage everyone in our community to work out how they can support the trans and
gender diverse community because they’ve been the target of an ongoing campaign from Mr Latham and others, which has done untold damage to the trans community.”
Mr Greenwich also rejected support from federal One Nation leader. In a stern video posted to social media late on Thursday, she labelled the homophobic slur toward Mr Greenwich “disgusting” and urged Mr Latham to apologise.
“I don’t need or want Senator Hanson’s support,” he said.
“She is someone who will target the LGBT community when she wants to. She just did it last week with a motion in the Senate. What I’d like to see is more work being done to call out people like Pauline Hanson and Mark Latham.”
Tweet from @AlexGreenwich
Senator Hanson, who appeared at an anti-transgender rally last week in Canberra, took to social media on Thursday to condemn Mr Latham’s homophobic attack.
“I want you to know I don’t condone them (Mr Latham’s words) and neither do my members of parliament or party associates,” she said.
“I think they are disgusting”.
Mr Latham joined Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party in 2018. He was voted in again to the upper house in last Saturday’s NSW election.
Senator Hanson said she had tried to phone the firebrand MP “a couple of times to no avail”, to ask him to issue a public apology.
“It is now over to Mark to answer the people”.
NSW Labor upper house leader Penny Sharpe said she was “physically sickened” by the now-deleted tweet, in which Mr Latham made comments about Mr Greenwich’s sexuality.
“Homophobia is always unacceptable and there is never an excuse,” she said.
“Mr Latham should apologise to Alex Greenwich immediately.”
Mr Latham is yet to make any further public comments.
Mr Greenwich earlier criticised Mr Latham after a mob of hundreds of people attacked LGBTQI activists outside a church in south-west Sydney in the lead-up to the NSW election.
The small group of peaceful protesters was surrounded and threatened by Christian Lives Matter activists outside the event in Belfield, where Mr Latham had been invited to speak about parental rights.
Three men were charged following the incident.
“No one should take the law into their own hands. Violence at political events is wrong,” Mr Latham tweeted at the time.
-with AAP
