+34
NSW One Nation leader Mike Newman claims he 'misspoke' at a rally where he said the party wanted to 'stop' abortion rights. He now insists the party only opposes late-term and sex-selective abortions, despite previously stating a desire to ban abortion entirely.
One Nation’s new leader in NSW, Mike Newman, says he misspoke at a rally at which he said the right-wing party, describing it as a “foot-in-the-mouth moment”, while also admitting he did not know how many terminations were performed because of gender.
Newman, the former investment banker and Japan trade commissioner, appeared at a rally on Tuesday night alongside anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe at which he said One Nation wanted abortion “stopped”.
“We want to support people who want to make sure that abortion rights – we want to stop it,” he said. “We want to make sure that people have the right to life, and we will vote for you in favour of that. ”Newman backtracked on Wednesday, releasing a statement in which he said he was referring to stopping late-term and sex-selection abortions, and saying One Nation was not in favour of banning abortion “outright”.
Later on Wednesday, Newman told News24, formerly Sky, that he “misspoke” at the rally, insisting One Nation was only against “sex-selective abortion and late-term abortion”. However, while admitting he did not know how many late-term or sex-selective abortions were performed in NSW, Newman claimed without evidence that there were “stories of babies being left in Petri dishes to die”.
“It’s not about a blanket ban,” he said. “I guess I spoke out of turn. I own it that I incorrectly sort of put that forward … call it a foot-in-the-mouth moment. ” The rally was one of a string organised by Howe in the past few months, supporting a bill by the Libertarian MP John Ruddick seeking to ban sex-selection abortions.
The bill, which is due to be voted on in the state’s upper house on Wednesday, has been dismissed by multiple MPs as an attempt to reanimate a wider debate on abortion. Abortion was decriminalised in NSW in 2019. Ruddick points to 2025 research by Edith Cowan University that found migrant families from Indian and Chinese backgrounds were more likely to have male children than the rest of the population.
The research, oft-cited by anti-abortion activists, conflicts with a 2020However, the review found that 10 of those cases were likely to be reporting errors because the pregnancies were terminated within a nine-week gestation period, before the gender of a fetus is known. Despite his clarification, Newman told News24 he did not know how many sex-selective or late-term abortions were performed in NSW.
One Nation’s leader said he had been listening to Howe, a controversial anti-abortion activist with a large social media following, who has been“ spoken to her at length about these sorts of things. I don’t have the numbers off the top of my head. ” In NSW, health practitioner guidelines stipulating terminations cannot be performed for the sole purpose of sex selection.
After 22 weeks an abortion must be approved by two specialist doctors who must consider a woman’s medical circumstances as well as her physical, psychological and social circumstances. Asked whether that was not enough of a safeguard, Newman said: “If the evidence is showing otherwise, right, as I said, I don’t have the numbers off the top of my head, and I apologise for that.
” He conceded the number of late-term abortions performed after 22 weeks for a non-medical reason would be “quite small”, and said those decisions should be made on “a case-by-case basis”. He also claimed, without evidence, that babies had been “left in Petri dishes to die”.
“I’d say very few ,” he said. The apparent shift in Newman’s message prompted Premier Chris Minns to accuse the One Nation leader of changing his opinion to suit his audience.
“Particularly when you’re running a government, you can’t change from Monday to Tuesday, from AM to PM,” he said. Newman was unveiled as One Nation leader last month, and will run in the Hunter Valley seat of Cessnock. A former NSW trade commissioner, he was chided by Pauline Hanson during his first press conference for answering a question in Japanese.
One Nation Abortion Mike Newman NSW Politics Sex-Selection Late-Term
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
One Nation's Net-Negative Migration Plan Sparks Criticism from Major PartiesOne Nation has proposed a drastic cut in temporary visa holders, aiming for net-negative migration over three years. The plan, which excludes international student caps and regional workers, has been criticized by the National Farmers' Federation and major parties who accuse Hanson of ignoring the economic benefits of migration. The announcement follows recent controversies involving Hanson's comments about public housing and Prime Minister Albanese.
Read more »
One Nation's immigration policy would slash 750,000 temporary migrant placesOne Nation's proposed immigration policy would reduce temporary migrant places by 750,000 over three years, targeting international students and family members of skilled migrants, with critics warning of economic and social consequences.
Read more »
Mike Newman clarifies One Nation abortion policy after rally call to stop abortionsOne Nation NSW leader Mike Newman says he made a mistake when he appeared to call for abortion to stop, insisting the party opposes only late-term and sex-selective abortions. His clarification came as NSW parliament prepares to consider a bill targeting sex-selective procedures.
Read more »
Australian politics live: Lambie compares ‘dangerous’ Hanson to Trump; NSW One Nation leader wants abortion ‘stopped’Follow the day’s news live
Read more »