Scott Morrison Tried To Bring A Hillsong Mate To A Key Diplomatic Event At The White House

Scott Morrison has finally admitted that he requested that his friend Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong Church, attend a top diplomatic event at the White House.

The revelation came during a conversation with radio host Ben Fordham, in which Morrison confirmed that he put Houston’s name forward in a list of potential invites to be approved by Trump’s White House last year. The glamorous dinner is one of the key diplomatic events on the international calendar, and no Australian Prime Minister has been invited to attend since 2006.

Morrison has previously refused to answer the question of Houston’s invitation, news which was first broken by the Wall Street Journal. Indeed, Morrison even described the story as “gossip.”

But he was singing a different tune to Fordham.

“I’ve known Brian for a long time, and Hillsong Church has a big network of churches all across the United States. And the ministry, when it comes to their music … are very big. It’s probably the single largest church organisation that is known in the United States.

“On that occasion, we put forward a number of names, that included Brian. Not everybody whose names were put forward were invited. But the point about this is, they are a very large church. A lot of people in the United States go to their events every week. So I’m not quite sure what the accusation is.”

You can listen to the full conversation below, in which Scott Morrison tries to put on the snivelling substitute teacher voice he uses to try and get one over his constituents:

#EXCLUSIVE | @ScottMorrisonMP admits to @BenFordham his office requested an invitation for Hillsong founder Brian Houston to attend the White House state dinner.

The Prime Minister says "We put forward a number of names… that included Brian". #auspol pic.twitter.com/qaEpX4jY4P

— Ben Fordham Live (@BenFordhamLive) March 3, 2020