Minister’s views on US president: John Halligan has a duty to meet Donald Trump

TO characterise the comments made by junior Jobs Minister John Halligan in relation to the election of Donald Trump as childish would be to do a disservice to children.

Mr Halligan has described the next US president as a head banger, hardly the words of a responsible adult.

Nevertheless, as the citizen of a free country, he is entitled to hold those views. He is entitled to express those views. But he is not entitled, because of those views, to refuse to do the job that his fellow citizens are paying him to do.