Turnbull on Thursday night hosted an iftar, or end of Ramadan feast to mark the breaking of the fast, at Kirriibilli house, becoming the first Australian prime minister to do so.
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Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman, the national president of the Australian Imams Council, was once recorded on video preaching that homosexuality was an “evil act” which brings “evil outcomes” in the form of sexually transmitted diseases.
“These are evil actions that bring upon evil actions to our society”, he said.
Turnbull said on Friday he became aware of Alsuleiman’s comments during the course of the dinner when a journalist contacted the prime minister’s office.
Mr Turnbull was photographed sharing a joke over dinner with Aly and Carland, while at other times they appeared deep in conversation.
Australia’s political leaders are gearing up for the first ever online election debate hosted by social media giant Facebook and one of the country’s largest media organisation, News Corp Australia.
Mr Turnbull strongly indicated a re-elected Coalition would pursue university fee deregulation – a policy it tried but was forced to abandon after it was rejected by the Senate.
“Let me be very clear about this, and this was the theme of my address at the iftar-we are the most successful multicultural society in the world”, he said.
“We are all enriched by our diversity”, the prime minister said.
“They have no place in Australian law and Australian culture”.
Shorten would not endorse comments made by the Labor MP Michael Danby, who had linked the issue to the Orlando massacre, by saying hateful views “directly lead to Orlando-style horror”.
“As soon as he did become aware, he absolutely condemned them”, Senator Cormann told Sky News.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was not the government’s role to be intervening in Commission considerations.
Referring to the acts of terror like Sunday’s Orlando massacre he said, “Acts of terror like Sunday’s massacre in Orlando are perpetrated to divide us along lines of race, religion, sect and sexuality – but that kind of hatred and division must not prevail”, he said.
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“I do think it’s a good thing that the prime minister had an Iftar dinner and I don’t believe you can hold the prime minister permanently responsible for everyone who is invited”, he said.
