'Was I invited?': Hillsong founder says he didn't know about PM's White House invite

Hillsong pastor Brian Houston says he doesn't know if Scott Morrison asked for him to be part of an official delegation to the United States.

The prime minister dismisses reports he lobbied unsuccessfully to have Brian Houston attend state dinner.

Hillsong pastor Brian Houston said he didn't know about the invite. Source: AAP

Hillsong Church's founder says he doesn't know whether the prime minister's office tried to get him invited to the United States for an official state visit.

The Wall Street Journal reported Scott Morrison asked Brian Houston to be part of the official delegation, but was rejected by the White House ahead of last month's visit.

Mr Houston previously said the story was completely false, but now he's not as sure.
"Was I invited? I genuinely don't know," Mr Houston told 2GB radio on Thursday.

"At first I thought, no, I wasn't because it was news to me, now I literally don't know because the prime minister and I have never had a conversation about that."
Pastor Brian Houston.
Pastor Brian Houston. Source: Supplied
Mr Morrison has repeatedly refused to confirm if the story was true, dismissing questions about the attempted invite as "gossip".
But Mr Houston doesn't intend on pursuing the matter with the prime minister, who mentioned him during his first speech to parliament.

"I figure he's got a whole lot more important things on his mind like droughts and things that really matter for Australia," he said.
United States President Donald Trump holding a phone in the Oval Office.
US President Donald Trump. Source: AAP
Mr Houston said he denied the story when approached by the Wall Street Journal three weeks before it was published because he believed it wasn't true.

"The fact I didn't know anything about it doesn't tell us whether I was or wasn't invited. It's really a matter for Scott Morrison because I don't know anything about it," he said.

The Hillsong pastor also denied knowledge of a recording of his paedophile father Frank Houston preaching in 2004, five years after being banned because of his crimes.

"That's news to me," he said.


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'Was I invited?': Hillsong founder says he didn't know about PM's White House invite | SBS News