Barnaby Joyce has joined anti-abortion campaigners in Sydney, urging Nationals MPs to support a bill criminalising sex-selective terminations. The rally, held outside the New South Wales parliament on Tuesday night, saw Joyce address a crowd of about 1,500 people, introduced with chants of 'Nats must act'.
Joyce encouraged attendees to campaign against sitting politicians on the issue, stating: 'The one thing politicians fear is losing their job. What I see before me here is about 1,500 people who can hand out how to vote cards.' He acknowledged the political risk, saying: 'Politically, does this make you popular? Nup, nup. Probably lose half the votes every time you do it. But you know why you do it? Because it’s the right thing to do.'
The bill, introduced by Libertarian upper house member John Ruddick, would ban only sex-selective abortions. Dr Joanna Howe, who organised the rally, told the crowd that the four Nationals members in the NSW upper house were the only obstacle to the bill's approval. She warned: 'If the Nats don’t pass this bill, then One Nation is going to take your seats … If you don’t vote for this bill, Barnaby’s coming for you.'
Health Minister Ryan Park described the bill as a conscience vote but noted there is no evidence of sex-selective abortion occurring in NSW. He said: 'It would make it the only part of healthcare that is done through that type of criminality and I don’t want to see that.' The Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Nisha Khot called the bill 'predicated on misinformation', while Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn said it targeted certain cultural and ethnic groups.
Howe stated the bill would be just the start of a legislative campaign, with plans to introduce further bills until 'all the babies' are protected. She also announced grassroots campaigns in every Nationals-held seat ahead of the 2027 state election. A counter-protest of about 150 people gathered nearby, with one speaker warning that similar bans in the US preceded the overturning of Roe v Wade.
The bill is set to be debated in the NSW upper house on Wednesday, with a vote expected in the coming days. If passed, it will move to the lower house. No party holds a majority in either chamber, and Labor, Liberal, and National MPs have been granted conscience votes on the issue.
