The former Nationals MP made the claim on ABC radio, saying the party has a “large proportion of gay people” while distancing himself from the candidate’s remarks. He defended One Nation as “one of the gayest parties in Australia” after comments from a failed candidate describing same-sex attraction as a mental illness surfaced online.
THIS ARTICLE AT A GLANCE
- Former One Nation WA candidate Parminder Singh described homosexuality as a mental illness in a podcast interview
- Barnaby Joyce called Singh’s comments “highly offensive” and said they fell outside Australian political “guardrails”
- Joyce claimed One Nation has “quite a large proportion of gay people” and is “one of the gayest parties in Australia”
- One Nation removed Singh’s profile from its website but did not formally disendorse him
- One Nation SA MP James Virgo is openly gay, but the party has opposed marriage equality and supports banning puberty blockers
- Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown described Singh’s comments as “demonstrably false, thoroughly discredited and deeply harmful”
- Pauline Hanson has previously said gay marriage could lead to polygamy and child marriage
Joyce made the claim on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing on Wednesday, saying the party has “quite a large proportion of gay people”, responding to comments made by Parminder Singh, who was third on One Nation’s Western Australian Legislative Council ticket at the 2025 state election.
In a podcast interview last month, Singh described homosexuality as a “mental illness” and said he did not want same-sex marriage to remain legal.
“He obviously doesn’t know One Nation because we got a surprise for him. We have quite a large proportion of gay people,” Joyce said.
“We believe in an Australian culture that is tolerant, egalitarian, and has things that are inside the guardrails.”
Joyce said Singh’s remarks were “highly offensive” and claimed they fell outside what he called the Australian political “guardrails”. He added that the removal of Singh’s profile from the One Nation website was a “strong statement”, though he did not have the power to formally disendorse him.
“I think we’re one of the gayest parties in Australia,” Joyce added.
One Nation’s South Australian MP James Virgo is openly gay and has spoken about his identity in parliament. However, the party’s policy record includes opposition to marriage equality and support for banning puberty blockers for transgender young people.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has previously said in 2017 that gay marriage could “open a can of worms” that could lead to polygamy and child marriage. In June 2026, Hanson used her first National Press Club address to launch a broad attack on trans rights, describing the movement for trans equality as a “militant force” that must be “confronted”.
Anna Brown, chief executive of Equality Australia, described Singh’s comments as “demonstrably false, thoroughly discredited and deeply harmful”.
