Cory Bernardi

Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian politician who has been the leader of One Nation South Australia and a member of the South Australian Legislative Council (MLC) since March 2026. Formerly a member of the Liberal Party, he served as a federal senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020. Bernardi left the Liberal Party in 2017 to found and lead the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party which was disbanded in 2019. He led One Nation into the 2026 South Australian state election, winning a seat in the Legislative Council as the party achieved its best result in the state. A social and economic conservative, Bernardi opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, holds anti-Islam views, denies the scientific consensus on climate change, and has advocated for nuclear power. He attracted controversy in 2012 for suggesting that legalising same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy and bestiality.