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The Canberra Liberals' spokeswoman for multicultural affairs Elizabeth Kikkert called alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos "very refreshing" in a since deleted Facebook comment. The incendiary British commentator visited Canberra on Tuesday as part of a whistlestop tour of Australia. The self-described "internet supervillain" attended a Q&A session at Parliament House at the invitation of Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm. On a public Facebook photo of Yiannopoulos at Parliament House, Mrs Kikkert wrote "He is pretty cool and very refreshing". Her comment was later removed. While in Australia, Yiannopoulos has taken aim at both Islam - saying Walkley Award-winning journalist and social commentator Waleed Aly was "dedicated to the destruction of Western civilisation" - and Aboriginal Australians - describing their art as "shit". In a video posted on his Facebook page last Tuesday, he told a Muslim woman anyone who identifies as Muslim should be sent back to the Middle East. "If you believe in the precepts of Islam and all of the things Islam seems to produce in this country I think you should go," Yiannopoulos said. Mrs Kikkert holds the shadow portfolios for multicultural affairs, families, youth and community services. In a statement, Mrs Kikkert said her comments did not reflect an endorsement of his views. "I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion," Mrs Kikkert said. "As a migrant to Australia, I know first-hand the tolerant and accepting place that our country is. "As shadow minister for multicultural affairs, I have made great effort to champion and support our diverse community. "I believe that all Canberrans, including those of different faiths and ethnicities, should be respected." The conservative firebrand politician has courted controversy before over her comments about the Safe Schools program. Mrs Kikkert accused teachers of "asking 13-year-old girls to fantasise about sexual intercourse" with another woman as part of the program.

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