A Sydney bishop who was stabbed in his church has backed Elon Musk over his decision to let footage of the attack circulate on X where he is the executive chairman.
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Australia's eSafety Commissioner won an interim injunction against X Corp to hide footage of the alleged terrorist attack at Wakeley on April 15 and is seeking to have it extended.
Bishop Mar Mar Emmanuel's sermon was being livestreamed when he was allegedly attacked at Christ The Good Shepherd Church and the graphic footage was shared across social media.
The bishop was seriously injured in the attack and was taken to hospital with lacerations to his head and another of the parish priests, Father Isaac Royel, was also injured.
While eSafety said it was satisfied with compliance from other platforms including Meta, it was not satisfied X Corp's actions complied with its removal notice.
But now Bishop Emmanuel has entered the debate saying he was "not opposed" to the video of his violent attack circulating online, in a video published on April 25.
"I do not condone any acts of terrorism or violence," he said.
"However, noting our God-given right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I'm not opposed to the videos remaining on social media.
I would be of great concern if people use the attack on me to serve their own political interest to control free speech.
His comments come days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the tech billionaire "arrogant".
"We'll do what's necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he's above the law, but also above common decency," the prime minister told the ABC on April 23.
"The idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out of touch Mr Musk is."
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie also took a swipe at Mr Musk saying he "should put his big boy pants on and do the right thing" by removing 65 tweets containing footage of the Sydney church stabbing.
"But he won't because he has no social conscience," Senator Lambie said.
A second hearing is being held on April 24 where the Federal Court will be asked to decide whether to extend the interim injunction.
Carla Mascarenhas
Carla Mascarenhas is the NSW correspondent covering breaking news, state politics and investigations. She is based in Sydney. Contact her on carla.mascarenhas@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Carla Mascarenhas is the NSW correspondent covering breaking news, state politics and investigations. She is based in Sydney. Contact her on carla.mascarenhas@austcommunitymedia.com.au
