Taylor won’t say if he supports multiculturalism as Chalmers says he’s trying to ‘out-One Nation One Nation’

Angus Taylor has repeatedly refused to say whether he supports multiculturalism in Australia, sidestepping five questions at a press conference about his views and claiming “there’s all these vague words running around”. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, accused the opposition leader of “playing footsie” with One Nation and Pauline Hanson’s call for a “monoculture” in Australia , as Labor ministers committed to backing multiculturalism. “One of the reasons why the Liberal party is dying in [Taylor’s] arms is because his efforts to out–One Nation One Nation are becoming increasingly pathetic,” Chalmers said in question time. Hanson’s demands for a “monoculture”, from her speech at the National Press Club last week, have been met with opposition from other members of the Liberal party. The shadow minister, Jonno Duniam, on Monday called it a “bizarre concept” and spoke of the “success of multiculturalism”. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Hanson, in her National Press Club speech, claimed multiculturalism was a “failed policy” that gave all cultures the “equivalence to ours”. “Surely opposing that is not racist, it’s common sense,” she said. Hanson has not expanded on exactly what she meant by “monoculture”, but on Channel Seven’s Sunrise on Tuesday, she claimed her idea was “about being united as strong under the one culture”. “I’m not saying forget where you came from or your cultural background, by no means,” Hanson said. …