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National Party senator Bridget McKenzie has defended the gay community against remarks by a WA One Nation upper house candidate, Parminder Singh, who described homosexuality as a mental illness yesterday.
She told Nine’s Today show this morning that while she would not comment on individual One Nation members or candidates, she believed the gay community was “as politically diverse as anyone”.
“In my home state of Victoria, many are joining the National Party and the Liberal Party because they’re sick of a very, very bad Labor government.”
She said gay Australians were joining the National Party because they were increasingly concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism. She did not provide any evidence for this claim.
“I think for many in the gay community, they are joining the National Party because they, like we, are very concerned about Islamic extremism and the impact it has on their daily lives,” McKenzie said.
Yesterday, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said Singh’s comments were “highly offensive”, and described his party was “one of the gayest parties in Australia”.
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