Liberals dumbfounded by Angus Taylor’s multiculturalism comments: ‘Embrace the reality of modern Australia’

Angus Taylor has attempted to clarify comments on multiculturalism after his five non-answers on Tuesday which left colleagues dumfounded and questioning the opposition leader’s approach to One Nation. As senior Liberals lined up endorse to Australia’s cultural diversity on Wednesday, outspoken backbencher, Andrew McLachlan, went further, challenging his leader to “embrace the reality of modern Australia”. “If you aspire to lead our nation you should embrace the reality of modern Australia,” the Liberal senator told Guardian Australia. “It is a prerequisite of a leader to fight for the aspirations of each and every member of our community.” Taylor, in a press conference on Tuesday, repeatedly refused to say whether he supports multiculturalism in Australia, sidestepping questions about his views, and claiming “there’s all these vague words running around” before asking a reporter, “Do you want to define it for me?” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The line of questioning was in response to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson last week declaring that Australia “cannot be a multicultural society” and must be “monocultural”. The opposition leader’s answers were met with surprise and concern from some Liberal colleagues, who saw Hanson’s “monoculture” claim as crossing a red line and gifting the Coalition a clear opportunity to differentiate themselves from One Nation’s agenda. “Nobody knows what monoculture means and it won’t resonate. …