Australian senator Cory Bernardi says same-sex marriage leads to bestiality

The leader of the Australian Conservatives, Cory Bernardi, has suggested that the legalisation of same-sex marriage in his country has resulted in a push for bestiality laws.

In an interview with Sky News Australia, Bernardi, who campaigned against legalising equal marriage in Australia, again linked the legalisation of same-sex marriage to socially accepting sexual relations between human and animals.

Bernardi resigned from his post as Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott’s parliamentary secretary in 2012, after his inflammatory comments about bestiality, made during a Senate debate, caused outrage.

But, on Sunday (February 3), Bernardi stood by his past position on same-sex marriage—saying that its legalisation has led to people wanting recognition for polyamorous marriages, relationships between humans and animals and a lower age of sexual consent.

“This is the irrationality of it,” said Bernardi on Sky News Australia show Outsiders.

“I did say in the Senate [in 2012] that you would have other calls to redefine marriage using the same arguments.”

Australian Conservatives’ Cory Bernardi opposes same-sex marriage

The 49-year-old senator, who represents the state of South Australia, continued: “That includes multi-member marriages, I reference [philosopher] Peter Singer and his advocacy and endorsement of human-beast relations.

“And now we’re seeing what is a repeat of the 1970s, can I say, because in the 1970s there was a bunch of Labour politicians in the UK seeking to lower the age of consent.”

“I did say in the Senate that you would have other calls to redefine marriage using the same arguments.”

—Australian Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi

On December 7, 2017, the Australian government passed same-sex marriage, after 61.6 percent of citizens voted for it in a voluntary postal survey.

The first same-sex marriage in Australia was held on December 15.

People celebrate as the result is announced during the Official Melbourne Postal Survey Result Announcement at the State Library of Victoria on November 15, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Scott Barbour/Getty)

Australian senator Cory Bernardi says same-sex marriage leads to “endorsement” of bestiality

Asked to explain his views on polygamy, Bernardi, who is a practising Roman Catholic, responded: “We see it continue to be normalised.”


“There are elements of… a community that is saying, ‘You can’t help who you love. I love two people. I want to live with both of them, we want to be able to get married, it’s discriminatory for us not to be married. We all want to be co-parenting together.’

“It’s hard to argue against it when you’ve redefined marriage to be something that it never was in the first place.”

Watch Sky News’ interview with Cory Bernardi below: