Barnaby Joyce Rallies Anti-Abortion Activists At NSW Parliament

Barnaby Joyce has addressed an anti-abortion rally outside the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney, urging pressure on Nationals MPs ahead of an upcoming vote on a private member’s bill seeking to ban “sex-selective” abortions.

The rally took place on Tuesday evening and drew a crowd estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 people. The event was organised alongside anti-abortion campaigners, including academic Dr Joanna Howe, and focused on lobbying members of parliament ahead of debate on the bill introduced by Libertarian MP John Ruddick. The proposed legislation is scheduled for consideration in the NSW upper house before moving to the lower house.

Dr Howe has recently been in the news for posting pictures claiming to show aborted twin girls named “Ruth and Emma”, however reporting from The Guardian has shown that it’s actually a picture of baby sugar gliders.

Speaking to the crowd, Joyce said: “I don’t know much about lots, but I know lots about politics,” and added: “And the one thing politicians fear is losing their job.” He told attendees that political pressure could influence voting decisions, stating: “What I see before me here is about 1,500 people who can hand out how-to-vote cards.”

Joyce’s appearance formed part of a broader campaign effort by anti-abortion activists seeking to influence MPs from the Nationals, with organisers also warning that politicians who oppose the bill could face electoral challenges from minor parties such as One Nation.

The bill under debate seeks to prohibit abortion when it is sought on the basis of the sex of the foetus. NSW Health policy already bans sex-selection abortion, and the practice was previously considered in parliamentary discussions during the 2019 decriminalisation of abortion in the state.

Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Nisha Khot said the bill was “predicated on misinformation”, that there are already laws against sex-selection abortion for non-medical reasons, and that the “underlying aim is to restrict access to abortion”.

Counter-protests were also held outside the parliament during the demonstration, with participants pointing to similar legislative debates in the United States as a point of comparison.

The bill is expected to be debated in the NSW Parliament in the coming days, with MPs from major parties set to be granted a conscience vote.