The favourite to succeed Barnaby Joyce as Deputy Prime Minister is an occasional Elvis impersonator who once said gay people and ‘their unnatural acts’ would ‘wipe out humanity’.
New South Wales Nationals MP Michael McCormack is considered to be the frontrunner to become leader of the Nationals after Mr Joyce resigned on Friday.
Mr McCormack is the current Veterans’ Affairs Minister, and in a column in the Daily Advertiser in 1993 he said ‘a week never goes by anymore that homosexuals and their sordid behaviour don’t become further entrenched in society’.
New South Wales Nationals MP Michael McCormack is considered to be the frontrunner to become leader of the Nationals after Mr Joyce resigned on Friday
Barnaby Joyce stepped down as leader of the Nationals and Deputy Prime Minister on Friday
His resignation came after it was revealed he was expecting a child with former staffer Vikki Campion
‘Unfortunately gays are here and, if the disease their unnatural acts helped spread doesn’t wipe out humanity, they’re here to stay.’
Mr McCormack has since apologised for the views he expressed in the column.
At the time, Mr McCormack said those who were opposed to homosexuality showed ‘moral backbone’.
In a statement ahead of the same-sex marriage survey, Mr McCormack said his opinions have ‘changed quite significantly’ since he wrote the column.
‘I have grown and learnt not only to tolerate, but to accept all people regardless of their sexual orientation or any other trait or feature which makes each of us different and unique,’ he said.
‘I apologised wholeheartedly for the comments at the time and many times since, but I am making this statement to unreservedly apologise again today.’
Mr McCormack said he had ‘grown’ since making the comments, and hoped others ‘can do the same’.
‘The debate on same-sex marriage should at all times be carried out in a respectful manner and I encourage both sides to be mindful of the hurt that their words might inflict, even unintentionally.’
Mr McCormack voted in favour of same-sex marriage becoming legal.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr McCormack for comment.
Mr McCormack is the current Veterans’ Affairs Minister, and in a column in 1993 the Daily Advertiser he said ‘a week never goes by anymore that homosexuals and their sordid behaviour don’t become further entrenched in society’
Mr Joyce resigned as leader of the Nationals and as Deputy Prime Minister on Friday after a tumultuous fortnight of scandals.
It was revealed his former staffer Vikki Campion is pregnant with his child, and on Thursday the National party confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they had received a sexual harassment complaint regarding Mr Joyce from a Western Australian woman.
Mr Joyce has denied the sexual harassment allegation.
Others in the mix for the leadership of the party and role of Deputy Prime Minister are former assistant minister Keith Pitt, Nationals member for Lyne David Gillespie, Andrew Broad and David Littleproud.
Mr McCormack served as Barnaby Joyce’s (pictured) deputy for the National party leadership