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From The Australian
By Sascha O’Sullivan
Damning footage has emerged of a Greens candidate hurling expletive-laden insults at Catholic students at the height of the same-sex marriage debate.
The footage, released yesterday, shows Connor Parissis, the Greens candidate for the south Sydney seat of Barton, screaming “your beliefs are a joke” as students hand out free food and “no-vote” pamphlets at Sydney University.
“Shut the f..k up,” Mr Parissis yells in the video. “Go back to church … You know who’s a joke? Your f..king beliefs.”
Mr Parissis, 21, describes himself on his candidate website as a “left-wing” and “mental health” activist and boasts of being a “University of Sydney queer officer at the forefront of the Safe Schools campaign and the YES campaign for marriage equality”.
“Go wank yourself at home, you and your f..king Jesus picture,” Mr Parissis is recorded as saying in the video. “I wish I could kick your face in.”
Catholic students from the University of Sydney who were the focus of the attack in 2017 told The Australian it left them afraid to express their views on campus. Francis Tamer, who was the president of the Catholic Society at the time, said religious views were now “getting shut down”.
“There is a culture among some students at university whereby anything that challenges leftist beliefs needs to be suppressed and eradicated,” Mr Tamer said. “It’s a culture of ‘socialism to the death’, and anything else that challenges that view is shut down.”
Members of the society Marie James, Lucas Di Cicco and Gabrielle Isaaks agreed with Mr Tamer that it was a “worrying” time for religious freedom.
Their comments came as Scott Morrison weathered fresh attacks over his religion yesterday.
“It feels like it’s a lot harder to express our beliefs in public,” Mr Tamer said. “Religious views are being regulated and it’s scary for someone like a university student looking to enter the workforce.”
Mr Parissis posted a statement on Twitter yesterday claiming footage of the 2017 protest had been edited. “The footage being shared was filmed and edited by right-wing Verum Media, which is now defunct following their support for Pell,” he wrote.
“Vote No campaigners at Sydney University had set up a stall without permission, telling passers-by that marriage equality would lead to legalised pedophilia and bestiality.”
The Greens candidate was criticised last year for encouraging people to attack Liberal Party offices. “Log off and grab a bat and head to ur local liberal office x”, he posted on Facebook in August.
During Greek Easter celebrations, Mr Parissis posted an image showing Jesus performing a sexual act, with the caption “I love easter traditions”.
He advertises himself as a candidate who will fight for youth mental health, refugees and indigenous rights.
“The people of Barton deserve to hear a left-wing voice, and to make a left-wing choice; not to be restricted to the empty liberal populism of the ALP, and the conservative, backward LNP,” Mr Parissis said on his website.
A Greens party spokesman failed to respond to a request for comment. The Labor Party, whose candidate Linda Burney holds the seat of Barton by 8.3 per cent, also did not respond.
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