One Nation MP Rod Roberts backs Mark Latham as party leader after he said gay sex was ‘disgusting’

According to one of his party members, Mark Latham is still the right man to lead One Nation in the New South Wales parliament, despite his attacks on gay men.

Rod Roberts, who sits in the upper house with Mr Latham, said his leader had a right to express his views and no one was forced to agree with him.

That was despite party leader Pauline Hanson dismissing some of Mr Latham’s comments as disgusting.

“I have no problem with his leadership,” Mr Roberts told Daily Mail Australia. He is entitled to his opinion and it is his opinion. We do indeed live in a free society.

“Now you don’t have to agree with what he says, but like everyone else, he has the right to express an opinion.”

NSW Police confirmed on Monday that an investigation had been launched into an abusive tweet Mr Latham addressed to Gay Independent MP Alex Greenwich.

Last week, Latham said the thought of two men having sex was so “disgusting” to a straight man that he wanted to “throw up.”

“The basic natural reality is we don’t have anal sex with dudes and that’s puke-worthy,” he told a radio audience on April 27.

Mr Latham had revealed more of his views on homosexual acts when asked to explain a vulgar tweet he posted about Mr Greenwich in March.

Mr Greenwich had called Mr Latham a ‘disgusting human being’ for delivering a speech at St Michaels Church in Belfield in south-west Sydney on March 21 as Christians clashed with LGBTQI activists outside.

‘Awful?’ Mr Latham responded on Twitter. “How does that compare to sticking your dick in a dude’s ass and covering him in shit?”

Mr Latham, who has declined to apologize for the tweet, appeared on Chris Smith’s TNT radio program last Thursday and went even further.

“I speak for many straight men, Chris, when I say the idea of ​​having anal sex with another man would make you throw up,” he said. That’s what makes us straight.

“Now, I know there’s no category or letter in the LGBT ABC WTF alphabet for straight men, but that’s how we genuinely feel about people like Greenwich.”

On Monday, Mr Greenwich announced he would sue Mr Latham for defamation and had lodged complaints with NSW Police and Anti-Discrimination NSW on defamation grounds.

Greenwich described the March 30 tweet as “defamatory and homophobic.”

“He followed that up with media commentary that doubled down on his attack,” he said Monday.

NSW Police have confirmed that officers linked to the Surry Hills area command have ‘opened an investigation after receiving reports of online harassment targeting a 42-year-old man’.

“The investigation is continuing,” a spokeswoman said.

Anti-Discrimination NSW declined to comment due to confidentiality provisions in the Anti-Discrimination Act.

Daily Mail Australia spoke to Mr Roberts, a former detective who entered parliament in 2019, before Mr Greenwich revealed he would be taking legal action against Mr Latham.

“People need to look at a broader picture of Latham and not just focus on those comments, but also look at his policy reform efforts over the last four years he’s been here in the state legislature,” he said.

“He continues to do a good job. Just because some people take offense to what he said doesn’t diminish his ability as a policy lawyer in NSW.”

Mr Roberts said: ‘There are many people in this world who do things that I don’t agree with, but I won’t go on about it’.

“It’s like sitting in this parliament,” he said. ‘I need to sit next to the Greens and listen to some of the crap they’re up to. I disagree, but they have a right to be here.

“And that’s like Latham. He has the right to express his opinion. Now you don’t have to agree.

“You might think the language might be vulgar and he should have chosen another language, but that’s how he chose to express himself and everyone has a right to express himself.”

When Smith asked Mr. Latham if he would use the same foul language in the tweet when he had time again, he said, “Well, it’s code for anal sex between dudes.”

“I can tell you, Chris, if someone put a gun to my head and told me to have anal sex with a dude, I’d throw up. I would puke all over him. And I speak for straight men and this is what makes us straight.”

Two days after his original social media outburst, Mr Latham explained his refusal to apologize for the now-deleted tweet.

“Sometimes in public life when you throw insults they come back at you harder and truer… So boo-hoo Alex Greenwich,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Greenwich said, ‘Enough is enough.’

‘I have been openly gay in public life for 15 years and in the NSW Parliament for over 10 years, and never have I experienced such a homophobic, sexualized attack that exposed me to scorn, ridicule and extreme abuse, based on my sexuality.’

One Nation founder Ms Hanson has not responded to requests for comment regarding Mr Latham’s latest comments on homosexuality.

Ms Hanson previously urged Mr Latham to apologize for the ‘disgusting’ tweet and said her party did not approve of his comments.

“I want you to know that I don’t approve of them and neither do my MPs or fellow party members. I find them disgusting,” she said.

‘I’ve actually tried to call Mark a few times, but to no avail. And I obviously texted him with my opinion.

“I asked him to apologize to the people. I’ll leave it at that. It’s now up to Mark to answer to the people.’

Mr Latham again refused to apologize during his interview with Smith, saying Ms Hanson had not contacted him.

“Pauline never called me at any stage,” Mr Latham told Smith. ‘I haven’t had any contact with her.

“I guess as a woman she doesn’t understand how straight men feel about this and… gays obviously wouldn’t understand how straight men feel about it, but it’s true.

“The basic natural reality is that we don’t have anal sex with dudes and that’s puke-worthy.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns called Mr Latham’s tweet ‘despicable’ and on April 2 said he would try to prevent him from chairing committees.

Mr Latham responded to that call by telling Daily Mail Australia that he was ‘not applying’ for a committee chair, describing Mr Minns as ‘a fool’.

Last Thursday, Mr Latham told Smith his tweet was justified by Mr Greenwich suggesting he had encouraged violence at the LGBTQI rally.

“Greenwich went out and said I was a dangerous person,” he said. “Said I had incited violence, said I was a disgusting human being.”

“Greenwich has gone way over the top without any facts and I have said in reply to him what I think is the truth. I gave my opinion.

‘Of course it is not an opinion that is fashionable. It was expressed rudely. The rude words have been removed from Twitter, but Greenwich will not apologise.”

When asked what he would do if Ms Hanson demanded he resign from her party, Mr Latham said: ‘Well she hasn’t contacted me and I don’t apologise’.

So I’m not resigning anywhere. I’m not apologizing and I’m not backing down.’

Mr Greenwich previously said Mr Latham’s tweet had moved him to tears.

“This obviously hurt me. I cried a little bit at the end of the day yesterday,” he said on March 31.

“After ten years in this gig and being re-elected, I didn’t think I would still be a victim of homophobic abuse.”

However, at the time Mr Greenwich refused to call on Mr Latham to apologize or resign.

“I don’t want to give him another soap box to pretend to be a victim when he tries to victimize people,” he said.

One Nation will have three representatives – Mr Latham, Mr Roberts and former Labor MP Tania Mihailuk – in the upper house when parliament resumes.