One Nation MP David Farley has admitted he had a “great night” attending mardi gras – comparing his populist party to the “United Nations” and reiterating they “represent all Australians”.
Pauline Hanson’s party has been faced with the fallout over mixed messaging surrounding the event, following comments from a former candidate who said gay people were mentally ill.
The candidate has since apologised.
Last week, MP Barnaby Joyce said One Nation was “one of the gayest parties in Australia”.
However, Senator Hanson stepped in Sunday to state that she still did not like mardi gras – more than three decades after she famously opposed the annual LGBTQI+ event.
“I still don’t like the gay mardi gras, but that’s my opinion,” she told News24.
“Have I ever been to one? No. Do I intend to go? No, I don’t.
Pauline Hanson said she still did not like mardi gras. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
One Nation MP David Farley said he had attended. Picture: NewsWire / Ben Symons
“I think your own personal sexuality should be kept … behind closed doors. It’s no one’s business to do it out there with the gay mardi gras anywhere.”
Asked about the mardi gras, Mr Farley – who gave his inaugural speech in parliament last week following the Farrer by-election in May – told ABC his sister was part of the LGBTQI+ community and that he attended the event with her.
“Am I going this year? No, I’m not,” he said.
“It’s a cultural celebration for that group of people … am I for it? No, not really. But, I’m not against it, put it like that.”
Asked about his experience, Mr Farley said it was “a great time” and that it was a “great night of entertainment”.
“Well, it was a great mardi gras. I had a big, big friend – big six-foot-seven friend out from Tennessee, USA – and we were dining in the city that night, on that side of town,” he said.
“We started to walk our way back and we walked right into the start of the gay mardi gras.
Mr Farley said he had attended with a friend from the United States. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman.
“Now, I can tell you, this gentleman comes from pretty conservative roots down there in Tennessee, and he was taken aback by it.
“But, by the end of the night, we walked a couple of hundred – three or 400m into it – and it was a great night of entertainment.”
Mr Farley went on top describe One Nation as a “pretty Broad Church”.
“You look across our party now, sometimes I walk into the different offices and consider that wow, we’re part of the United Nations,” he said.
“Sometimes I walk into it and I see part of it, I go, well, we’re part of the Gay mardi gras already.
“I think, you know, One Nation represents all Australians. We don’t have to align ourselves, with one side or the other.
“We just want the Australians to prosper, have a healthy life, a happy life, and a good life, and those choices, what we’re talking about now, are up to the individual. “
