Anti-gay stance In 1993, McCormack published a controversial editorial in which he blamed homosexuality for AIDS and criticized
pride parades. He wrote that "a week never goes by anymore that homosexuals and their sordid behaviour don't become further entrenched in society [...] unfortunately gays are here and, if the disease their unnatural acts helped spread doesn't wipe out humanity, they’re here to stay". He asked "how can these people call for rights when they're responsible for the greatest medical dilemma known to man – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome?" The article was the subject of three complaints to the
Australian Press Council, though none was upheld. In further editorials from the same period he said "I’m not sorry, why should I be?" about his views, and branded himself "homophobic". McCormack subsequently wrote a second editorial apologising for the first. His remarks resurfaced when he embarked on a career in politics, and he issued further apologies in 2010 and 2017, stating that he had "grown and learnt not only to tolerate, but to accept all people regardless of their sexual orientation or any other trait or feature which makes each of us different and unique". Despite his apologies, the controversy resurfaced after he became Deputy Prime Minister (2018–2021).
Advocacy for corporal punishment and the death penalty In other editorials, he called for the return of
caning in high schools, saying "there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with students [...] being given a 'stinging reminder' about how to conduct themselves". He also voiced support for the
death penalty. When asked for comment by
The Guardian, he said that "editorial views expressed more than 25 years ago in no way reflect how my views and community views have changed since publication [...] as people get older and start families, and grow as members of their community it is completely reasonable their views change over time".
Pork-barrelling In January 2020, McCormack's deputy leader
Bridget McKenzie resigned her ministerial post after she admitted to having breached the ministerial code of conduct and widespread accusations of
pork barrelling. It was subsequently revealed that regional infrastructure grants program administered by McCormack in the months leading up to the
2019 federal election awarded 94 per cent of its grants to electorates held or targeted by the Coalition.
Coronavirus In September 2020, McCormack was forced to backtrack an opinion attributing Victoria's
second COVID-19 outbreak to a
Black Lives Matter protest in
Melbourne as a panellist on the
Q+A program. When he was told there was lack of evidence regarding this by host
Hamish Macdonald, McCormack stated that he'll "accept that but people shouldn't be protesting". The
Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria had confirmed that no positive cases of COVID-19 came from the protest in June 2020, despite the fact that allowing the protest went against emergency health regulations in the state.
United States Capitol storming comments In January 2021, McCormack was criticised for comparing the
2021 storming of the United States Capitol by supporters of
Donald Trump to Black Lives Matter protesters saying, "Any form of protest, whether it’s a protest over racial riots or indeed what we’ve seen on Capitol Hill in recent days, is condemned and is abhorred.” McCormack's statement was criticised by
Amnesty International and the
Opposition. A spokesperson for McCormack later said, "Any form of violence should be condemned." == References ==