Australian prime minister regrets inviting anti-gay cleric

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is today visiting the Liberal held seat of Macarthur, in Sydney’s south west, where he will address jobs in the trucking industry.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday regretted inviting an anti-gay Islamic preacher to an Iftar party and asked the cleric to recant his comments that gays were responsible for spreading HIV and other deadly diseases.

The Australian newspaper reported Alsuleiman had said in a sermon uploaded on to social media in 2013 that homosexual acts “are evil actions that bring upon evil outcomes to our society”.

Turnbull hosted an iftar dinner to break ramadan at which he hoped to build political bridges to and between the Muslim community leaders.

Turnbull told reporters that once he was informed of Alsuleiman’s anti-gay comments, he brought them up at the dinner and advised him “to reflect very deeply on his remarks”.

‘I recognise that some of the critics of marriage equality have extreme views, ‘ he told reporters on the NSW Central Coast on Saturday.

“However I always follow such statements with a personal commitment to tolerance and encouragement that all Muslims and all people approach all individuals, no matter their faith, race or sexuality, in a considerate and respectful way”.

The incident occurred two days after Australia cancelled the visa of a British cleric, Farrokh Sekaleshfar, over his anti-gay comments including advocating capital punishment for homosexual acts in public. Orlando has also led to an increase in polarizing anti-Muslim sentiment and commentary. If the government is re-elected, it plans to hold a plebiscite this year that would allow voters to decide.

Under Mr Shorten’s leadership, Labor has gone from also-rans after Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister last September, to within a fighting chance for the July 2 election as opinion polls show the opposition having a slight advantage.

Labor has vowed to put same-sex marriage to a vote in parliament within 100 days of being elected.