--- title: "One Nation removes WA candidate after anti-gay remarks surface" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/one-nation-removes-wa-candidate-after-anti-gay-remarks-surface" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/one-nation-removes-wa-candidate-after-anti-gay-remarks-surface" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/one-nation-removes-wa-candidate-after-anti-gay-remarks-surface.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/one-nation-removes-wa-candidate-after-anti-gay-remarks-surface" category: "Politics" area: "Asia-Pacific" published: "2026-08-12T13:25:29.758Z" source_reported: "2026-08-12T11:49:22.000Z" updated: "2026-08-12T13:45:18.358Z" trust_score: 68 critic_score: 95 hype_score: 30 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-12T14:30:19.986306+00:00" --- # One Nation removes WA candidate after anti-gay remarks surface *Parminder Singh said gay people have a mental illness in a video, prompting party distancing and profile removal* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 68 of 100, higher is better. Multiple named sources (Joyce, Singh, Holden) and independent outlets corroborate the story. - Craft 95 of 100, higher is better. Quotes from involved parties, clear context, and next steps are provided, keeping facts separate from commentary. - Hype 30 of 100, lower is better. Headline reflects quoted remark without exaggeration; article presents the statements without sensational language. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Parminder Singh, a former One Nation WA candidate, said in a video that gay people have a mental illness and opposed same-sex marriage. - One Nation removed Singh’s profile from its website after the comments became public, as reported by ABC Australia and others. - Barnaby Joyce, a One Nation MP, called the party 'one of the gayest in Australia' while distancing it from Singh’s remarks. - LGBTQIA+ advocates condemned the comments as harmful, with Equality Australia calling them 'outdated and deeply offensive'. Parminder Singh, a former One Nation candidate for Western Australia’s upper house, said in a social media video that gay people have a mental illness. The comments were posted by Perth comedian Jasky Singh, who shared clips of the interview. In the video, Parminder Singh also claimed that same-sex relationships were an 'advertisement' to young people and that women who tried relationships with women would not 'go back' to men. One Nation removed Singh’s candidate profile from its website after the video became public. ABC Australia reported that the profile was still visible when it first contacted the party but was taken down later. Barnaby Joyce, a federal One Nation MP, said the comments were 'highly offensive' and did not represent the party. Joyce told ABC TV that One Nation was 'one of the gayest parties in Australia' and had a 'large proportion of gay people'. LGBTQIA+ groups condemned Singh’s remarks. Meaghan Holden, CEO of Living Proud Inc in WA, said the comments were 'inaccurate, harmful and inconsistent with decades of medical and psychological understanding'. Anna Brown, head of Equality Australia, called the remarks 'outdated and deeply offensive' and said they contributed to stigma and social exclusion. ## What the coverage left out None of the digests from the left-rated outlets mentioned Singh’s comments about transgender people, which were reported in full by ABC Australia. The right-rated digest from The West Australian did not mention the removal of Singh’s profile from One Nation’s website. PerthNow’s centre-rated report did not include reactions from LGBTQIA+ advocates. ## Who covered it Shares of the 6 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 67% (4) - Centre: 16% (1) - Right: 17% (1) 0 of 6 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-12T14:30:19.986306+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 6 times; 1 check found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-12T15:15:51.116Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The left-rated reports led on Singh’s comments about gay people having a mental illness. ABC Australia’s full report quoted Singh directly, including his claim that 'no-one born anything' and that parents were to blame for homosexuality. It also carried reactions from LGBTQIA+ advocates, including Meaghan Holden and Anna Brown, who called the remarks harmful and baseless. - ABC Australia and QNews noted that Singh’s profile was removed from One Nation’s website after the party was contacted about the video. ABC Australia quoted Joyce’s remark that One Nation was 'one of the gayest parties in Australia' but placed it in the context of his distancing from Singh’s views. The left-rated digests from The Canberra Times and OUTInPerth also led on the removal of Singh’s profile and the party’s response. ### Centre - PerthNow’s full report led on Barnaby Joyce’s remark that One Nation was 'one of the gayest parties in Australia'. It quoted Joyce directly, including his claim that the party had a 'large proportion of gay people' and that Singh’s comments were 'highly offensive'. The report also noted that Singh’s profile had been removed from the party’s website but did not include reactions from LGBTQIA+ groups. ### Right - The West Australian’s digest led on Joyce’s attempt to distance One Nation from Singh’s comments. It did not mention Singh’s specific remarks about gay people having a mental illness or the removal of his profile from the party’s website. The digest did not include reactions from LGBTQIA+ advocates or quotes from Singh’s video. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - high: 3 - unknown: 2 - veryHigh: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [OUTInPerth | LGBTQIA+ News and Culture](https://outinperth.com/one-nation-identity-parminder-singh-says-gay-people-have-a-mental-illness) — One Nation identity Parminder Singh says gay people have a mental illness - [PerthNow](https://perthnow.com.au/news/politics/one-nation-one-of-the-gayest-political-parties-joyce-c-22714379) — One Nation 'one of the gayest' political parties: Joyce - [The West Australian](https://thewest.com.au/politics/one-nation-one-of-the-gayest-political-parties-joyce-c-22714369) — One Nation 'one of the gayest' political parties: Joyce - [The Canberra Times](https://canberratimes.com.au/story/9329329/one-nation-one-of-the-gayest-political-parties-joyce) — One Nation 'one of the gayest' political parties: Joyce - [QNews](https://qnews.com.au/wa-one-nation-candidate-parminder-singh-describes-gay-people-as-having-mental-illness) — One Nation removes WA candidate from website after bizarre anti-gay interview - [ABC Australia](https://abc.net.au/news/2026-08-12/parminder-singh-one-nation-parminder-singh/107027568) — One Nation candidate says gay people have a mental illness ## Questions **What did Parminder Singh say about gay people?** Singh said in a video that gay people have a mental illness and claimed same-sex relationships were an 'advertisement' to young people. He also said women who tried relationships with women would not 'go back' to men. The comments were widely condemned by LGBTQIA+ advocates as harmful and baseless. **How did One Nation respond to Singh’s comments?** One Nation removed Singh’s candidate profile from its website after the comments became public. Barnaby Joyce, a One Nation MP, called the party 'one of the gayest in Australia' while distancing it from Singh’s remarks, which he described as 'highly offensive'. **Which outlets reported reactions from LGBTQIA+ groups?** ABC Australia and OUTInPerth reported reactions from LGBTQIA+ advocates. Meaghan Holden of Living Proud Inc called the comments 'inaccurate and harmful', while Anna Brown of Equality Australia described them as 'outdated and deeply offensive'. PerthNow and The West Australian did not include these reactions. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. 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