Queensland radio host Mike Jeffreys has criticised Liberal Senator Dean Smith for speaking about Tori Johnson – the hero of the Lindt Cafe siege.

Back in 2015 when Senator Smith announced he’d changed his position on marriage equality he noted that one of the triggers for him reevaluating his position was the death of gay man Tori Johnson in the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney.

Yesterday during an interview on the ABC’s Insiders program host Barrie Cassidy asked Senator Smith about his change of views from when he first joined the parliament.

Senator Smith said that while he didn’t know Tori Johnston or his political views, his death had been an event that caused him to re-access his views.

Appearing on The Perrett Report on SKY News Queensland radio host Mike Jeffreys said it was wrong of Senator Smith to mention Johnson.

.@jeffreys_mike does not think @DeanSmithWA should have brought Tori Johnson into the current same-sex marriage debate. #PerrettReport pic.twitter.com/8Tgjfo8M74

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 6, 2017

“I do find it concerning that the senator who is presenting himself, presumably as a man of compassion is dragging Tori Johnson’s name into this.” Jeffreys said.

“I was speaking to somebody who has been a close friend of the family, and known Tori Johnson since he was a little boy, and I can tell you that Tori Johnson was in a very long term relationship, was in the process – with his partner- of buying a house, and if we’re to draw any indication of Tori Johnson’s life, it’s that he was getting on with it.”

After it was highlighted on social media that Thomas Zinn, Johnson’s partner of 14 years, had spoken about the couples support for marriage equality in the wake of his death, Jeffreys was adamant that he was not misrepresenting the dead man’s views.

The talk-back host from Queensland’s 4CA responded on Twitter saying he stood by his comments.

OUTinPerth reached out to Jeffreys via 4CA but received no response by our deadline.