Barnaby Joyce defends One Nation after candidate's anti-gay remarks

Barnaby Joyce has defended the One Nation party following homophobic remarks made by a former candidate, Parminder Singh. Singh, who was positioned third on the party’s Western Australian Legislative Council ticket for the 2025 state election, previously described homosexuality as a mental illness and criticized the legality of same-sex marriage.

One Nation has since removed Singh from its official website. Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Joyce characterized Singh’s comments as “highly offensive” and stated they fell outside the established Australian political “guardrails.”

Joyce further claimed that One Nation possesses a significant proportion of gay members, asserting, “I think we’re one of the gayest parties in Australia.” He attributed the incident to “growing pains” in the party’s vetting processes as its membership and applicant pool expand.