Mark Latham has doubled down on his homophobic comments toward independent MP Alex Greenwich, ‘liking’ a series of tweets supporting the slur.
The NSW One Nation leader swiftly deleted his post attacking independent state MP Alex Greenwich on Thursday but, in a seeming act of defiance, has liked several comments supporting his position, including: ‘I couldn’t have said it any better, Mark.’
Latham appears to have gone into hiding and is not taking calls as of Friday morning after he objected to Greenwich calling him ‘disgusting’, after giving a speech to a church while Christian Lives Matter protesters allegedly clashed with LGBTQI demonstrators.
Latham responded by tweeting: ‘Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke’s a*** and covering it with s***?’
Daily Mail Australia has confirmed he has still failed to respond to One Nation’s leader at a federal level, Pauline Hanson, after she sent him a text message outlining her disgust, made several attempts to contact him – and then publicly condemned him last night.
There are calls for Latham to be removed from the party and others for him to step down from his role in NSW Parliament altogether.
Latham appears to have gone into hiding and is not taking calls as of Friday morning. He’s even still ignoring One Nation’s leader at a federal level, Pauline Hanson
But even should he ditch One Nation – a big call – Latham no longer needs the support or backing of his party.
Last Saturday, he was re-elected into the upper house for the next eight years, on a salary worth an estimated $170,000.
He could opt to leave the party and serve the remainder of his term – until 2031 – as an independent, having been guaranteed a job in parliament until he is 70 years old.
The 62-year-old resigned from his position in parliament October, 2022 in a bid to double the amount of seats One Nation held in the upper house and run again at the 2023 election.
And, while many of his own supporters are outraged over the comments, there are plenty of others who have since come out to offer their backing.
‘I think Mark’s buttons were pushed just one time too many. People can only take so much for so long till they have had enough,’ one fan said.
Another said: ‘I wish I could vote for him twice.’
While Latham and Mr Greenwich have butted heads in the past over opposing policies, the duo appeared to be on good terms during a recent debate with Radio 2GB.
He’s been commended for the classy response he provided to the vile tweet. Mr Greenwich said he also does not expect any recourse in the NSW Parliament
There are calls for Latham to be removed from the party and others for him to step down from his role in NSW Parliament altogether
Mr Greenwich described their relationship as ‘friendly colleagues in parliament’ who have ‘some intense debates’.
And Latham noted in the same chat that ‘everyone loves Alex’.
Ben Fordham, acting as moderator for the debate, said it was the most civil he’d hosted at that point and commended both men for the respect shown to one another.
Any illusions that the pair are on good terms have now been shattered, with Mr Greenwich noting he’s not expecting an apology for the abhorrent comments.
‘For those wondering how I’m doing after Latham’s homophobic attacks today, I’m fine and I’m more motivated than ever to deliver long overdue LGBTIQA+ reforms,’ he said.
‘And I have the most handsome husband.’
He’s been commended for the classy response he provided to the vile tweet.
Mr Greenwich said he also does not expect any recourse in the NSW Parliament.
Mark Latham has doubled down on his homophobic comments toward independent MP Alex Greenwich by ‘liking’ a series of tweets supporting the slur
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe is leading the calls for Latham’s resignation, revealing she found his comments ‘quite difficult to see’.
‘What he did was really quite abhorrent I haven’t seen that kind of language for a long time,’ she said.
‘It really does have an impact on the community, including even on people like me, I found it really quite difficult to see that yesterday.’
Senator Hanson said she’d tried calling the firebrand MP a few times to ask him to issue a public apology but he had not responded.
‘I’ve actually tried to ring Mark a couple of times, to no avail. And I have clearly sent a text message to him, telling him my views,’ she said.
‘I’ve asked him to give the people an apology. I will leave it at that. It is now over to Mark to answer to the people.’
