Michael McCormack blames Grim Reaper AIDS ads for homophobic columns

Michael McCormack has blamed the Grim Reaper AIDS campaign for his homophobic newspaper columns of 25 years ago.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has blamed the Grim Reaper AIDS awareness advertising campaign for his homophobic newspaper columns published more than 25 years ago.

Mr McCormack said “society was different” when he wrote anti-gay materials while editor of the Wagga Wagga’s The Daily Advertiser in 1992 and 1993.

One of the editorials described homosexuality as “sordid” while adding: “Unfortunately gays are here and, if the disease their unnatural acts helped spread doesn’t wipe out humanity, they’re here to stay”.

In another article he bragged about being homophobic and wrote: “I have no pangs of guilt for telling the truth about what gays are doing to the world and the decent people living in it”.

Mr McCormack said he had repeatedly apologised for the articles, adding he was influenced by the Grim Reaper advertising campaign from 1987.

“I think society was different then, we were also under a huge and intense advertising campaign with the Grim Reaper bowling balls; there was a rise in AIDS and the concern around that,” Mr McCormack told Sky News in his first television interview since becoming Nationals leader.

“I shouldn’t have written those words, I apologised at the time.

“Words hurt, words last and I apologise for that, when the same-sex marriage vote came to the parliament in the debate I apologised again, no one asked me to but I did, I thought it was right and proper to do so.”

Mr McCormack said he voted in favour of same-sex marriage in the parliament despite personally being opposed to changing the Marriage Act.

“I voted in favour of same-sex marriage because I said if we were going to outsource that vote to the Australian people and the Australian people want a change in the act then it is important that the parliament upholds the will of the people,” he said.

Mr McCormack said Barnaby Joyce would play a large role in the Nationals despite being on the backbench.

He refused to say whether he considered dumping Nigel Scullion from cabinet, as was speculated by radio broadcaster Alan Jones.

“We’ve got some fine people in the cabinet and they have been rewarded for the fine jobs they have done in the past, they are doing now and they will continue to do in the future, Nigel Scullion has done a very good job,” Mr McCormack said.

“I looked at my portfolio areas and I wanted to keep the portfolio roles to provide minimal disruption to the government.”