Footage shows senator on stage at the Church and State conference responding to question about party’s director James Ashby
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One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts told a conference earlier this year that he was in “two minds” about whether gay people should have equal rights.
In footage from June’s Church and State conference, released on Sunday, the senator can be seen responding to a question about James Ashby, the party’s director, who is gay.
Both Roberts and the One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, appeared at the conservative Christian conference.
In the footage, Roberts described Ashby as bright, honest and straight.
“Well, straight in one way,” he joked.
An audience member then asked Roberts what Christians should think about Ashby.
Roberts responded by referring to the late American bishop and gay rights advocate John Shelby Spong, citing him as saying that after women and black people were no longer recognised as “inferior”, gay people were next.
“Now I’m in two minds about that,” Roberts said. “So I haven’t got a firm position on it myself other than I don’t, I’m not homosexual and I can’t, I can’t understand it.
“But there have been a number of homosexuals who are very, very prominent in many, many fields throughout history. So all I know is that in this environment, James is not morally sound. But from what I’ve seen of him, his honesty, his integrity, his ability, he is sound.
“So if you pardon me, I haven’t made up my mind, but there are a number of people in society in very prominent positions in the arts, sports, science, business, politics, who are homosexual.
“And I don’t think we can afford to ban them. So it’s difficult.”
The chief executive of Equality Australia, Anna Brown, said it was “genuinely shocking” that a One Nation senator would talk about “banning” people.
