Minister In Charge Of ABS Copping Heat Over Past Gross Homophobic Remarks

Ah, yet more proof that the postal vote on same-sex marriage will be a truly civil affair, presided over by people who respect the people they’re inviting Australia to vote upon.

Christopher Pyne copped a richly-deserved grilling on The Today Show this morning over historical comments by Nationals MP Michael McCormack – who oversees the Australian Bureau of Statistics, who just so happen to be overseeing the postal vote on same-sex marriage.

Back in ’93, McCormack wrote a column for The Daily Advertiser in which he compared homosexuality to “a disease”.

“A week never goes by anymore that homosexuals and their sordid behaviour don’t become further entrenched in society,” he wrote at the time.

“Unfortunately gays are here and, if the disease their unnatural acts helped spread doesn’t wipe out humanity, they’re here to stay.”

McCormack later apologised for his comments, but remains staunchly opposed to marriage equality.

Pretty rough stuff. Pyne was confronted by Lisa Wilkinson on Today about McCormack’s comments, in his capacity as a government representative on the morning show.

Pyne rejected the assertion that McCormack is in charge of the postal vote, but condemned the comments from 25 years ago.

“Michael is not the minister responsible [for it], the Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann is,” he told The Today Show. “[However] the remarks he made are quite unacceptable. I don’t agree with him.”

“The remarks aren’t acceptable in modern society and he should distance himself from them,” he repeated.

Ah, wonderful. All in good faith, mmm?

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