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Monday 18 March 2019 - 06:17

Australian lawmaker justifying New Zealand massacre punches boy

Story Code : 783875
This photo from a video grab apparently shows Will Connoly putting a raw egg on the side of Senator Fraser Anning
This photo from a video grab apparently shows Will Connoly putting a raw egg on the side of Senator Fraser Anning's head in Melbourne, March 16, 2019.

Videos of Will Connoly shaming far-right Senator Fraser Anning for his racist remarks are going viral online, turning the 17-year-old Australian into an instant hero.  

In the video, a composed Connoly is seen listening to the lawmaker as he speaks to reporters in Melbourne; then, he raises his phone with one hand and, with the other, smashes an egg on the side of the politician's head. 

Anning goes berserk, punching the boy in the face and taking another swing before the two are separated. Unidentified individuals then violently tackle the teenager to the ground as the senator is soothed by a man.

The incident came a day after the Australian politician drew outrage for blaming Muslim refugees for "the bloodshed at the streets of the country".

“The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place,” he said a Twitter message on Friday.

"This kind of violent vigilantism ... highlights the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence," he added.

Anning’s Islamophobic remarks drew criticism from Australian Prime Minster Scott Morrison, who described them as “disgusting”.

“The remarks by Senator Fraser Anning blaming the murderous attacks by a violent, right-wing, extremist terrorist in New Zealand on immigration are disgusting. Those views have no place in Australia, let alone the Australian parliament,” said Morrison.

The Australian prime minister also called for the “full force of the law” to be used on Anning for punching the boy and blaming the Christchurch terror attack on Muslim immigration.

British Home Secretary Sajid Javid called Anning a racist. “At a time for grieving and reflection, this Australian senator … fans the flames of violence and extremism,” Javid wrote in a Twitter post.

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called Anning “a disgrace to the Senate.”

“Fraser Anning’s comments today are contemptible. He is a disgrace to the Senate and, what is worse, by spreading hatred and turning Australians against each other, he is doing exactly what the terrorists want,” Turnbull said.

Anning is no stranger to controversy. In a speech to the Australian parliament in August, he called for a "final solution" to immigration, invoking a term which the Nazis used to describe their genocide in Europe. 

He also referred to the infamous White Australia policy, which effectively banned non-European migrants in the mid-20th century and permitted the ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Australians.

The speech was immediately condemned by members of parliament of all political stripes who called Anning's language "beyond deplorable".
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