Barnaby Joyce has condemned a former candidate’s homophobic comments, claiming One Nation is “one of the gayest parties in Australia”.
Mr Joyce on Wednesday was asked to respond to a series of unearthed comments by Parminder “Parry” Singh Manj, 48, who ran as the number three on One Nation’s Western Australia legislative council ticket in the 2025 election.
The controversial Indian-born former candidate described same-sex attraction as a mental illness and said marriage equality should not have been legalised, in a viral video with Perth comedian Mr Sikkant last month.
“You no need to gay parade,” he says in the video.
Mr Joyce, the former National turned One Nation MP, was asked about the comments on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing on Wednesday, after Mr Manj’s candidate page was removed from the party’s website.
He described the comments as “highly offensive”.
“He obviously doesn’t know One Nation because we got a surprise for him,” he said.
“We have quite a large proportion of gay people. We believe in an Australian culture that is tolerant, egalitarian, and has things that are inside the guardrails and outside … this is outside the guardrails.”
He added One Nation was “one of the gayest parties in Australia”.
Ms Hanson, speaking at a Mandurah rally in 2024 prior to the state election, said “he deserves that spot” on One Nation’s ticket.
“I’ve had a Muslim stand for me, Indians, Chinese, people from all different cultural backgrounds that have stood for the party,” she said at the time.
But this week she distanced herself from Mr Singh.
“I know he’s made comments … he’s not a candidate,” she said.
“He’s an individual that has his own views.
“He’s made his comments as an individual, not as the candidate. He’s not standing for One Nation … they’re not my views.”
Anna Brown, the chief executive of Equality Australia, described the former candidate’s comments as “demonstrably false, thoroughly discredited and deeply harmful”.
“People can hear what these candidates have to say and make their own judgment about whether those views reflect the Australia they want to live in, and whether they are consistent with contemporary Australian values,” she told The Guardian.
Mr Manj told news.com.au last month — prior to his disavowal by the party — that he made no apologies for his comments and stood by everything he said.
“I have not said anything wrong,” he said.
“Everyone has a right to their own beliefs. That’s called free speech. I’m not going to change anything, I’m not going to apologise for anything.”
He added, “I am a born politician.”
Mr Manj made waves in 2024 as the first Sikh to join the right-wing party.
The Kojonup business owner and property investor first went viral in a video with Mr Sikkant, whose real name is Jasky Singh, back in 2024 when he shared his outspoken views on the LGBT community.
“I want male be male, female be female,” he said in the 2024 clip.
In the follow-up hour-long video released last month, Mr Sikkant spent an entire day with Mr Manj in the lead-up to a speech by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson earlier this year, with the candidate dropping a series of decidedly un-PC bombs for the stunned interviewer.
“LGTB community … they are f**king our community,” Mr Manj says in his office. “You no need to gay parade.”
He continues, “If you think about Muslims, what the first thought that come in their brain? The first thought comes, terrorist. We Indian, if any people, the first thing in their brain comes up, they are the scammers, dodgy people. So we have that name now, dodgy people.”
Speaking to Mr Sikkant during a sweaty gym workout, Mr Manj explained that he first met Ms Hanson through the party’s state leader Rod Caddies MLC.
Mr Manj, a former councillor with the Shire of Kojonup — three hours southeast of Perth — had run as an independent in the 2021 state election after growing frustrated at the lack of power at the local government level to improve business conditions in the town.
“I not choose One Nation, One Nation choose me,” he says.
Over the day Mr Manj and Mr Sikkant wandered the streets and chatted with locals before Ms Hanson’s speech, which attracted a large crowd of protesters denouncing the One Nation leader as racist.
Mr Manj insisted his relationship with Ms Hanson was “very good” and she had even stayed at his house.
“Immigration is not an issue, the problem is when you force your culture on Australian culture, this is the problem,” Mr Manj says. “Australia is a free world.”
“What is Australian culture?” Mr Sikkant asks.
“Australia is free, we not give a f**k, you not give a f**k,” Mr Manj says. “Not tell them how to live. They not want some people interfere in their life. They’re happy in their camping, fishing and all those things.”
Mr Manj said he was opposed to Muslims trying to impose “sharia law” and wearing face coverings.
“Why all the asylum seekers, there is 52 Muslim countries, why they not go to the all asylum seekers in those 52 countries?” he says.
Mr Manj said he had only ever experienced racism “from my own community” for supporting One Nation.
“The real racist are the Labor and Liberals, they are real racist people,” he says. “They want like immigrant, they see like a servant. That’s it. They want to see us like a slave.”
One Nation’s website stated that Mr Manj had built up a range of businesses “through hard work and commitment” after immigrating to WA with his wife.
“The regions of Western Australia are of particular interest to Parminder, and he believes that decentralising some government functions and targeting policies to grow regional manufacturing and industry will ensure prosperity of many future generations of Western Australians,” his since-removed bio stated.
Speaking at a packed Perth business breakfast last month, Ms Hanson declared Muslim immigration was the “elephant in the room” in Australia, insisting that her approach has “nothing to do” with a White Australia policy.
Senator Hanson reflected fondly on her time running a fish and chip shop in Ipswich, and backed herself as a potential prime minister as her party continues to rise in the polls.
“If I was ever in that position, which could happen at the next election, to take on the position of being prime minister of this country, I could do it. I have no doubt about that,” she said.
She even suggested Australia could offer a free one-way ticket for illegal immigrants to leave the country, praising US President Donald Trump’s policy.
“We’ve got 18,000 people on watch list,’’ she said.
“We’ve got a real problem that’s grown in this country of radicalisation. We’ve had a number of terrorist attacks by Muslims in Australia.
“We’ve just had the biggest one ever last December at Bondi. You’ve got to call out the elephant in the room.
“And I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t want people coming to this country from radical Islamic countries, I don’t want that here.”
It came as fresh polling suggested One Nation could be within “arm’s reach” of forming government with the support of the Coalition.
— with Samantha Maiden
Read related topics:Pauline Hanson