Cory Bernardi has joined One Nation as its lead candidate for a Legislative Council seat in the 2026 South Australian state election, standing by controversial comments he made 14 years ago linking same-sex marriage to bestiality. When asked this week on ABC Stateline whether he stood by those remarks, Bernardi said "I stand by [them] 100 per cent".
He rejected any possibility of retreat, stating: "I'm not apologising or retracting anything that I've said".On the substance, Bernardi argued that since the Marriage Act redefinition, "we've gone down a complete spectrum, which was entirely denied would ever happen".
The reaction was swift.Greens leader Ramm Simms said Bernardi's stance was "a preview of the kind of ugly rhetoric we can continue to expect from him should he be elected to state parliament," characterising One Nation as representing "the politics of hatred and division," and calling on the Liberal Party to preference the party last.
The original comments drew fierce rebukes from across the political spectrum. Tony Abbott, then Prime Minister, described them as "repugnant", while former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull labelled them "extreme" and "hysterical".In 2012, Bernardi resigned from his position as parliamentary secretary to Abbott after arguing during a parliamentary debate that same-sex marriage was "another tear in the fabric of our social mores" and could lead to accepting bestiality.
What has changed in the intervening years? Bernardi offers a striking answer.When pressed on public offence to his comments, he drew an analogy: "I'm not fussed" about people being offended, he said, comparing it to people eating too much McDonald's. "I'm offended by people eating too much McDonalds, but that doesn't mean you should not deal with the fabric or the reality of what you're confronting".
This reveals a genuine philosophical divide rather than mere political posturing. Bernardi appears unmoved by social consensus or changing attitudes. His willingness to embrace public criticism rather than accommodate it suggests he views capitulation to mainstream opinion as moral weakness. For supporters, this signals principle; for critics, it demonstrates an unwillingness to engage with the actual evidence that marriage equality has not produced the cascading social harms he predicted.
Bernardi has framed One Nation's campaign around the claim that the party is "running to give a voice to a great many South Australians who think the major parties have left them behind," arguing that "the Liberal and Labor parties are basically the same".His broader policy agenda includes opposing "all race-based legislation," abandoning "net zero," and lowering the cost of living.
Yet by refusing to soften his stance on marriage equality, Bernardi risks alienating voters who might otherwise be sympathetic to One Nation's critiques of economic management or government overreach. Most Australians support marriage equality; the postal survey of 2017 saw nearly two-thirds vote in favour. Doubling down on this issue signals that One Nation will not seek consensus on contentious social matters, even where public opinion has moved decisively.
For the South Australian election on 21 March, the political calculation is becoming clearer.Recent polling shows One Nation at 20% primary vote, up seven points, compared to Labor at 40% and the Liberals at 19%. If One Nation gains upper house seats, it will do so despite Bernardi's social conservatism, not because of it. The real test will be whether voters prioritise his pitch on fiscal responsibility and limiting government over his stated views on matters of personal liberty that most Australians believe have been settled.