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

Liberal MPs are becoming ‘exceptionally uncomfortable’ with Angus Taylor’s apparent strategy to compete with or outflank One Nation, a source says. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP View image in fullscreen Liberal MPs are becoming ‘exceptionally uncomfortable’ with Angus Taylor’s apparent strategy to compete with or outflank One Nation, a source says. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Liberals dumbfounded by Angus Taylor’s multiculturalism comments: ‘Embrace the reality of modern Australia’ Party colleagues concerned opposition leader was missing an opportunity to differentiate Coalition from One Nation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast 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. Angus Taylor won’t say if he supports multiculturalism Read more “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. The fact he [Taylor] didn’t have any answer struck a bit of a confidence blow. Instead of capitalising on [Hanson’s] errors, he is just tip-toeing,” one Liberal MP said. The Liberal said MPs across the factional divide were becoming “exceptionally uncomfortable” with the strategy of attempting to compete with, or even outflank, One Nation on issues such as immigration. In a statement late on Tuesday, Taylor indicated he did support multiculturalism in some form. “I believe in an Australia where everyone respects our laws, shares our values and contributes to the fabric of our country. That is the type of multiculturalism that we believe in. We reject Labor’s multiculturalism which sees different people held to different standards because of the