The only man really there was the man with the gun: Fred Nile on Martin Place siege

Colourful NSW MP the Reverend Fred Nile has sparked further debate by claiming the only "man" in the Lindt cafe siege was the man with the gun: Man Haron Monis.

Following on from his comments on Tuesday that no hostages at Martin Place should receive bravery awards and their actions had potentially risked the lives of their fellow hostages, Mr Nile went a step further on Channel Seven's Sunrise on Thursday morning, criticising the men who were taken hostage as only trying to "save their own skin" when they should have put the interests of the women first.

"Usually men try to protect the women and it seems that the men were saving their own skin and leaving the women there," Mr Nile, 80, leader of the Christian Democratic Party, said.

"It was very traumatic. We saw [hostage] Katrina Dawson holding up the flag and tears running down her face. She was obviously traumatised by that situation.

"Well, where were the men? The only man really there was the man with the gun."

However, in a tweet later, Mr Nile said he had "misspoken". He had meant to say the terrorist was a coward. "The real Man was the man WRESTLING with the gun," he said.

@sunriseon7 yes I misspoke. The terrorist was a coward. As I tweeted yesterday, the hero was the man WRESTLING with the gun. #sun7 — Fred Nile (@frednile) January 14, 2015

Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week wrote to Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove to say Tori Johnson and Mrs Dawson should be honoured with posthumous bravery awards, and that "proper consideration" should be given to the actions of others involved, including other hostages and police.

"There may well be other significant acts by surviving hostages, police and others involved that are worthy of recognition," Mr Abbott wrote.

However, Mr Nile has made his point clear over the past 24 hours; that Mrs Dawson and Mr Johnson, who were killed in the 16-hour siege in December, should be the only ones to receive bravery awards, and that any other awards given out would "cheapen" them.

On Thursday, Mr Nile elaborated on comments he made on 2UE on Tuesday, saying a medallion or a ribbon might be a more fitting item to give to the hostage survivors.

When asked to describe the criteria he would like to see for the award, Mr Nile said: "It's someone who performs an act of bravery. They [the hostage survivors] didn't actually form an act of bravery. I don't want to devalue those bravery awards that are given to police officers and paramedics.

"They could get a medallion, a ribbon, to say, 'I'm a hostage survivor.' I'm happy for that."

Meanwhile, Sydney independent MP Alex Greenwich has called for Mr Nile to resign, even after Mr Nile clarified the comments he made on Sunrise.

"I do stand by my call for him to resign," Mr Greenwich said. "He has acted beneath parliamentary standards and he should resign.

"He is judging people who have been through an extremely traumatic time. It shows a lack of respect and a total lack of compassion.

"The reaction is certainly warranted. Fred has offended the Christian values that he alleges to represent. I think that it would be appropriate for him to consider his position in the Parliament for making such a hurtful and outrageous comment."

There was little social media love for Mr Nile on Thursday morning, with most users arguing his comments were insensitive and irrelevant.  

Someone needs to tell Fred Nile that Tori can be a boy's name and Tori Johnson was a man because Fred is the confused grandpa at Christmas. — Tom Ballard (@TomCBallard) January 14, 2015

#frednile.... i'm speechless — Kelly Marks (@kelmarx83) January 14, 2015

seriously why give Fred Nile any airtime? — Katina Ramsden (@KatinaRamsden) January 14, 2015

Fred Nile "the only man inside the Lindt Cafe siege at Martin Place was the man holding the gun" - He should resign for this comment #nswpol — Alex Greenwich MP (@AlexGreenwich) January 14, 2015

@sunriseon7 @frednile Fred Nile, you bigoted, narrow-minded old man. How hurtful you are. — Noelle Clark (@noelle_clark) January 14, 2015

Who gives a rat's clacker what Fred Nile thinks? #sun7 — Beaver Cleaver (@Yipdedoo123) January 14, 2015

Mr Nile has been contacted for comment