One Nation MP cries as he thanks Indonesian Muslim boyfriend in maiden speech

A newly elected South Australian One Nation MP has confirmed he is homosexual during his maiden speech to parliament, and called his Indonesian Muslim boyfriend the “love of his life”.

Jason Virgo, who won the seat of MacKillop in the March state election, broke down in tears during the speech where he also spoke about campaigning for “marriage equality”, said most of his friends were foreigners, and declared “I love migrants”.

Mr Virgo ran as a candidate for the Australian Sex Party at the 2010 and 2013 federal elections, and previously worked as a guard at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre, and at Mount Gambier Prison.

In his speech Mr Virgo said he was from a Labor-voting family who became One Nation supporters in recent years because they felt “left behind by the uniparty”, and then said he wanted to address rumours about his sexuality, and stated he has been “openly gay” throughout his adult life.

“I would rather my community hear it from me than from a potential political opponent or whispers and if someone does seek to weaponise who I am, that says more about them than it does about me,” he said.

Mr Virgo then said his boyfriend of 11 years was “born in Indonesia, a Muslim, and is now a proud Australian”.

“Our closest friendship circle was made largely of immigrants from China, India, and the Philippines. I love migrants. The overwhelming majority are simply searching for a better life,” he said.

“But two things can be true at once, and I do believe migration levels in recent years have been too high … Australians rightly expect governments to ensure our citizens, our own citizens, can access housing and opportunity first.”

Mr Virgo’s speech came after homosexual Labor MP David Wilkins, the newly elected member for Lee, a day earlier revealed that he had been sexually abused as a child in his own maiden address to parliament.

“At the time I knew something was not right, but like many young people in that position, I did not speak up. The abuse only came to light as a result of mandatory reporting laws passed by this parliament,” Mr Wilkins said.

“In the years since, I have found myself returning to that experience more often than I would like to admit, grappling with the concept that a jury determined the evidence of my experience was not sufficient to meet the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

“Like many who go through such processes, I was left feeling that neither my voice nor the impact of my experience was fully heard.”

Header image: Jason Virgo during his speech (Parliament of South Australia).