Stick with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who says Australia can't dictate what videos people in other countries can see.
It comes as Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel commented on Electronic Security Commissioner Julie Inman Grant's order to take down the graphic images, saying he was not opposed to them being kept online.
Dutton said he supported the removal of the video but acknowledged it was not possible to prevent it from being viewed outside Australia.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
He said that when the Coalition was in government they introduced legislation to remove graphic and violent videos, so they would not influence others.
“I'd love to say that it could be removed so that no child in the world could see it, [and] we strongly support the commissioner's position to remove it so that Australians cannot see it.
“But we can't pretend that Australia can dictate to other countries in the world what people watch in their countries. Because we wouldn't tolerate that here, that Russia can dictate what content is seen in Australia.”
He said Australia needed to be realistic about its options.
“We can't control the entire internet around the world, but we can influence what happens in Australian society.”
Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, cited the bishop's advocacy of free speech in his Federal Court battle. The tech mogul challenged the eSafety Commissioner's order to remove the images from the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Australia won a 24-hour injunction in the Federal Court on Monday to suppress videos of the stabbing, which was extended until a final hearing on May 10.
