Scott Morrison blasts ‘insensitive’ Israel Folau bushfire comments

Scott Morrison has blasted Israel Folau’s ‘appallingly insensitive’ comments about the bushfire crisis.

Israel Folau speaking at the Truth Of Jesus Christ Church.

Scott Morrison has joined a ­chorus of criticism and blasted ­Israel Folau’s “appallingly insensitive” comments after the former rugby star said the devastating bushfires, which have killed six people, represented God’s punishment for the legalisation of same-sex marriage and abortion.

The Prime Minister, who is also a practising Christian, said Folau’s comments were not represen­tative of the religious community.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese attacked the comments made in a sermon to the Truth of Jesus Christ Church in Sydney’s northwest as “reprehensible”.

“The thoughts and prayers, let me stress, from Christians are very much with those who are suffering under the terrible burden of fire,” Mr Morrison said on Monday.

“I thought these were appallingly insensitive comments. If people don’t have something sensible and helpful to say, can you just keep it to yourself.”

One of Folau’s closest allies, Alan Jones, also attacked the former rugby star, who had his $4m Rugby Australia contract torn up in May after a social media post saying homosexuals were going to hell unless they repented.

Jones told listeners to his 2GB Sydney program on Monday morning that Folau needed to “button up.”

“Israel is a lovely human being, I know him well. Israel, button up. These comments don’t help,” Jones said.

While delivering a sermon on Sunday, Folau said the timing of the bushfires was not a “coincidence”. “You have changed the law and changed the ordinance of these things,” he said.

“Look how rapid these bushfires, these droughts, all these things have come in a short ­period of time. You think it is a ­coincidence or not?’’

Folau told fellow worshippers at the Kenthurst church the drought and bushfires were God’s way of telling Australia “you need to repent” and they were only a taste of what God’s punishment could be.

Martyn Iles, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, who helped raise more than $2m to fund Folau’s legal case against Rugby Australia, defended the star, lashing the media for attempting to “paraphrase a sermon”.

Mr Iles said sermons “don’t lend themselves to quick sound bites” and churches were also offering practical support to victims and firefighters.

He defended Folau’s right to speak out, acknowledging that not all Australians shared his beliefs but that “the many” who agreed with him “shouldn’t be threatened or lose their freedoms”.

The federal Opposition Leader described Folau’s comments as “pretty reprehensible”.

“I think most people when they think of God or spirituality, they think of something positive and they think of a loving God,” he told Sky News on Monday.

“They don’t think of religion or faith in those terms and his comments are in line with some of his other comments, which are pretty reprehensible, frankly.”

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce warned against conflating the need for greater religious freedoms protection with Folau’s character.

The former deputy prime minister said if people identified broad­er problems with society, those problems should be addressed on their merits rather than on the character of the person who identified them. “If it was more an issue of Israel Folau’s rights, no one would care about it,” he said. 

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Folau’s sermon was diverting important attention from the climate crisis.