Liberals dumbfounded by Angus Taylor’s multiculturalism comments: ‘Embrace the reality of modern Australia’

Party colleagues concerned opposition leader was missing an opportunity to differentiate Coalition from One Nation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Angus Taylor has attempted to clarify comments on multiculturalism after his five non-answers on Tuesday, which left colleagues dumbfounded and questioning the opposition leader’s approach to One Nation. As senior Liberals lined up to endorse Australia’s cultural diversity on Wednesday, the outspoken backbencher Andrew McLachlan went further, challenging his leader to “embrace the reality of modern Australia”. “If you aspire to lead our nation you should embrace the reality of modern Australia,” the Liberal senator told Guardian Australia. “It is a prerequisite of a leader to fight for the aspirations of each and every member of our community.” Taylor, in a press conference on Tuesday, repeatedly refused to say whether he supports multiculturalism in Australia, sidestepping questions about his views and claiming “there’s all these vague words running around” before asking a reporter: “Do you want to define it for me?” The line of