Australian senator censured for blaming Muslim victims

Australian senator Fraser Anning arrives in the chamber at the start of the senate session Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at Parliament House in Canberra. Anning, whose comments about the New Zealand mosque shootings led to him having an egg cracked on his head by a teenage boy has faced a stinging attack in the first sitting of Australia's Parliament since last month's attacks. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

Australian senator Fraser Anning, center, bows his head in the chamber at the start of the senate session Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at Parliament House in Canberra. Anning, whose comments about the New Zealand mosque shootings led to him having an egg cracked on his head by a teenage boy has faced a stinging attack in the first sitting of Australia's Parliament since last month's attacks. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

CANBERRA, Australia – An Australian senator has been censured by his colleagues for seeking to blame the victims of last month's mosque shootings and vilify Muslims.

Sen. Fraser Anning was the target of widespread condemnation for blaming the attack in New Zealand on immigration policies. He faced more criticism later for physically striking a teenager who cracked a raw egg on his head in a viral incident in Melbourne.

Government and opposition lawmakers moved the censure motion against Anning on Wednesday for divisive comments "seeking to attribute blame to victims of a horrific crime and to vilify people on the basis of religion, which do not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people."

Anning has dismissed the censure motion as a "blatant attack on free speech."