AN Australian political adviser has made a bizarre outburst about the Irish while advising against his country following Ireland’s lead in allowing same-sex marriages.
Grahame Morris, who was a former chief of staff for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, based his opposition on the extraordinary grounds that include Irish people’s inability to grow potatoes as witnessed during the Great Famine.
He also described the Irish national symbol as a “weed” and said that Irish people have difficulty saying the word three.
On Sky News Australia, Morris reacted to a proposal by the Australian Labour Party to overturn the national ban on gay marriage.
He said: “I love the Irish and half the parliament’s full of Irishmen, but these are people who can’t grow potatoes, they’ve got a mutant lawn weed as their national symbol and they can’t verbalise the difference between a tree and the number three.
"And then all of a sudden Australia has to follow suit. I don’t think people are ready.
He added: "You run around Queensland, the Bush, and most of Western Australia and you can see people aren’t ready.
“This vote is going to be divisive and I don’t think most of the parties in parliament are ready to change.”
His comments have resulted in widespread condemnation and caused something of a social media storm.
