Queensland MP Bob Katter has told a local newspaper that being gay is “fashionable” and it’s become popular to be a homosexual. The MP said he remembers when Queensland didn’t have any homosexual people.

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Bob Katter was out on the campaign trail yesterday in rural Queensland, visiting the town of Dalby. The electorate of Maranoa, which the town lies within, was one of the few in the state that voted ‘no’ in the same-sex marriage postal survey.

Figures show that in the first five months since the laws changed, only five same-sex marriages occurred in the area. While across the whole state there had been nearly six hundred same sex weddings.

When a reporter from the Dalby Herald asked Katter why he thought there were so few same-sex couples getting married in the area, he responded by saying homosexuality had become popular, describing it as a ‘fashion trend’.

“In my whole life up to 50, I had never seen or heard of a homosexual person,” Katter said.

“Now it’s fashionable, it’s just like a fashion trend – tomorrow there’ll be another fashion.

“I just don’t want to waste any time on it.”

Anthony Wallis who will contest the seat for Katter’s Australia Party said the results of the marriage survey were “old news” and he didn’t spend any time thinking about LGBTI people.

Wallis said former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had described marriage equality as one of his achievements during his tenure, Wallis said it was potentially the former PM’s only achievement, and there were more important issues he was focussed on.

Bob Katter made headlines around the world when he gave a memorable interview saying he was not giving marriage equality any thoughts because crocodiles were tearing people apart in Queensland.

The MP also once claimed there was no gay people living in his electorate. During an appearance on the ABC program Q&A comedian Josh Thomas offered to install Grindr on Katter’s mobile phone to help him get in touch with local gay residents.

Katter’s latest comments have been slammed by mental health experts. Dr Kerrie Buhagiar, director of service delivery at ReachOut – Australia’s leading online mental health organisation – said the comments were irresponsible.

“We know that people who identify as LGBTQI have no more choice over their sexual preference than those who are heterosexual, and we also know that young people who are LGBTQI are at higher risk of distress and even suicide, so comments like this – that can challenge their identify – can have quite a detrimental impact on young people’s mental health,” Dr Buhagiar told SBS News.

Katter’s claim that he never met a gay person until 1996 is not completely unbelievable. Homosexuality was illegal in Queensland until 1991 and during the long reign of the Bjelke-Petersen government LGBTI people were treated harshly by the police, leading to many gay people leaving the state or keeping their sexuality a closely guarded secret.

OIP Staff