Malcolm Turnbull has strongly backed Jim Molan after the new Liberal senator reposted videos from the far-right group Britain First, telling parliament his colleague “doesn’t have a racist bone in his body”.

With the opposition and the Greens targeting Molan for refusing to apologise for the videos on his Facebook page, the prime minister said it was “deplorable” and “disgusting” that Bill Shorten would describe the former major general as a racist.

Molan told Radio National on Tuesday that Britain First was an “appalling organisation” which he did not endorse, but he refused to disavow the videos which blamed violent incidents on Muslims.



On Monday Molan’s swearing-in was overshadowed by the revelation he had shared two videos on Facebook posted by Britain First. The videos depict attacks in which two youths punch, push to the ground and kick a young woman, and kick, punch and pelt police cars.

They are titled “Muslim thugs beat girl in Holland” and “French police enter Muslim no go area” although the context and cause of the clashes is unclear. Molan’s Facebook account is no longer public.

In a fiery question time, Turnbull said every member of the government and the Liberal party had “absolutely zero tolerance for racism”.

Asked if he would order Molan to remove the “racist and bigoted” material, Turnbull fired back with a barrage of praise for the senator’s war record.

He said Molan, who led Australia’s troops in Iraq, was “a great Australian soldier”.

“He defended Australians’ values in the battle against Islamist terrorism in the Middle East,” he said. “He has stood up for our values, put his life on the line, led our troops and our allies’ troops in conflict. He has led thousands of troops in the battle for freedom against terrorism …

“We are lucky to have him in the Senate. He doesn’t have a racist bone in his body ... He and thousands of others like him are the reasons we enjoy the freedoms we enjoy.”



Labor and the Greens also targeted Molan in Senate question time, when the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, asked why the Coalition was adopting a more lax policy to Britain First’s propaganda than Australia’s allies.

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, famously shared Britain First material, earning a rebuke from the British prime minister, Theresa May.



Di Natale said Molan’s oversight of the Iraq war included “responsibility for the assault on Falluja, the assault that resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe with civilians denied food, water and aid”.

The Greens’ leader asked the defence minister if she was concerned that Molan’s “extreme views” had influenced his conduct of the war.

Marise Payne replied that the “reflection on the service of a senior Australian army officer takes your lows to depths I did not think you could plumb”.

“You consistently disappoint the Australian people,” she said. “You do it with the most extraordinary lack of self-awareness … of what it takes to lead your nation in a uniform.”

Molan, one of the architects of the Coalition’s Operation Sovereign Borders policy, replaced the Nationals senator Fiona Nash, who was found ineligible by the high court owing to her dual citizenship.

Earlier Molan said that the videos showed “violence and antisocial behaviour” and “other people are saying this is Islamic”.

Although the link to Islam may be disputed “the violent side hasn’t been discredited”, he said.

“Anyone who thinks I am anti-Islamic or racist … is stark raving mad. I [am not] either, I have worked effectively cross-culturally for years.”

Later the leader of the government in the Senate, Mathias Cormann, said Molan had handled the “attack” from Labor “very eloquently” and was “strong enough” to speak for himself.