
Anthony Albanese has withdrawn his comment comparing those with Tourette syndrome to Angus Taylor, saying the comment was ‘unkind and hurtful’.
“It was an insensitive slur, no one should be subjected to this kind of language. It has no place in Parliament and I apologise,” the PM said.
Members of the cross bench and the Greens were quick to jump on the PM’s slur, with one MP saying it was “absolutely despicable”.
“To compare a group of Australians to a man who has been accused of corruption, forging documentation, and using $80 million of taxpayer funds to buy a water licence from a company he was associated with, is just disgusting. They don’t deserve that,” one Greens senator said.
A Tourette’s advocate said it was time to move on from such insults. “People with Tourette syndrome have enough to contend with without being abused like this. How would you like to be compared to Angus Taylor. It’s 2024 for goodness sake and we’re still demeaning people by comparing them to members of the Liberal Party”.