Barclay McGain

In December 2019, Barclay McGain faced controversy after a video was released on the Young Liberal's Facebook page. The video showed McGain purporting to be interviewing young adults at random during Schoolies week regarding their opinions of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.[12][13][14][15] In one interview McGain is shown laughing as a fellow teenager criticized Aboriginal Australians for not being able to "even invent the bloody wheel".[16][17][18][19][20]

McGain initially declined to comment on the video,[21][22] which was widely criticized and labelled as racist by the Queensland State Government.[23]

Several Austalian actors including Deborah Mailman & Damon Herriman condemned the video.[24] Attending the 5th Annual Australians in Film Awards held at NeueHouse Hollywood, comedian Tim Minchin commented on the incident saying, "Everyone should grow up with an understanding that there was the world’s most incredible, deep and continuous culture living here for 60,000 years and just a beat ago we came and trashed it and that’s how it should be taught."[24]

Federal MP Phillip Thompson condemned the incident saying it was "disgusting and inappropriate."[25] Labor Senator Murray Watt condemned the incident, and said it was "not a one-off incident."[26]

On December 3, Minister for Communities and Housing and Minister for the Arts and Digital Economy of Queensland Leeanne Enoch released a statement regarding the incident calling for "immediate action from the opposition leaders."[26]

Addressing the incident, Ross Mueller of the Geelong Advertiser called McGain a "young racist bloke."[27]

Leader of the Queensland Opposition Deb Frecklington apologized on behalf of the accused saying, "They were inappropriate, and I apologize for them."[28][29][30][31][32] She was previously met with severe backlash for not apologizing.[33][34][35][36]

In December,[37] McGain was later suspended from his role as party leader, pending further internal investigation from the Liberal Party.[38][39][40][41]

However, an LNP spokesman told the Guardian Australia that in June 2020,[42] McGain resigned voluntarily from the party.[3]

In July 2020, McGain openly talked about the matter with the press, and stated that he had previously not spoken to the media about the incident because "he had taken one for the team, but he felt that the LNP had responded to the backlash to the video by throwing young teenagers under the bus, to make out as though they had gone rogue under the use of party branding.”[3]

In March 2021, Liberal Member of the Parliament, Andrew Laming, who previously employed McGain as an electorate officer, and supposedly fired him in June 2020,[43][44][45] defended McGain saying, " [McGain] has tried at times to be entertaining, funny, to satire and parody and often his humour falls completely flat, but that’s not a reason for a life sentence either."[46]

In December 2019, a video of McGain impersonating the then U.S. President Donald Trump surfaced on the internet. The video recorded in January 2018[47] showed McGain was using slurs standing in front of the Great Wall of China[48][49][36] and mocking Trump saying, "We're going to build the greatest wall, it is going to be to keep out the Mexicans, not the Mongolians, or the chikedy chongs, not Genghis Khan bing bong, bing bong."[50][51][52][36][53] McGain was met with criticism for the video as he was seen surrounded by multiple Chinese people and supposedly mocking their culture in front of them.[34][54]

In January 2020, McGain with several other members of Queensland LNP faced backlash for heckling performers at a Drag Queen Storytime Event, which was held for kids in Brisbane on January 5.[55][56][57] The group consisting of 15-20 members[58] stormed the event and chanted, "drag queens are not for kids."[59][60][61] The incident came to public attention after a video footage emerged on Facebook.[62]

Australian pop duo The Veronicas' Jessica Origliasso condemned the incident saying she was "absolutely furious" by the incident.[62] Australian stand-up comedian Joel Creasey said the incident was "disgusting."[62]

The group defended their protest and said "they left when asked by the security."[62][58]

In December, 2021, McGain came under severe criticism over a photo he posted on November 27[63][64] on social media dressed as Kyle Rittenhouse, the then 17-year old teen who killed two Black Lives Matter protestors in August 2020, for belated Halloween Party.[65][66][67][68] McGain was holding a blaster gun, which supposedly bore the resemblance to an assault riffle.[69][70] The photo's caption read, "Kyle Rittenhouse on neighborhood watch duties in Brisbane’s south tonight," with the accompanying hashtag "#NotGuilty."[71][72][73]

McGain was heavily criticized for supposedly glorifying and commending the acquitted teen's actions. McGain commented about the incident saying, "the costume was not necessarily an endorsement or condemnation of Rittenhouse’s actions." [74][75] Addressing the people who took offense at the photo, McGain said, "[they] learn to respect the rule of law."[71]

MP Laming's office initially declined to comment on the matter.[71][73]

A federal government spokesman from the PM's office condemned the incident saying, "[it was] completely inappropriate and the prime minister’s office has contacted Mr Laming to raise its serious concerns and options for further action."[76][77][78][79]

Former senator Doug Cameron condemned the incident saying, "[it was] a sickening behavior." He also criticized the government on taking late action on the matter saying, "Belated, confected condemnation is not good enough!"[65]

In September 2020, McGain was seen campaigning back for his party, which was met with criticism.[80][42][81] He also confirmed the Gold Coast Bulletin that he was still a signed member of the Queensland University Liberal National Club (QULNC), even though the group was made unaffiliated from Young LNP.[42]

McGain returned to his office in January 2021.[82][83] A Sky News Australia exclusive report revealed that McGain was never fired from Laming's office, rather he was made to sit out for six months.[46][84]

Upon McGain's return, Labor Senator for Queensland Anthony Chisholm said in a video interview by Julia Bradley of Sky News that, "It's not okay. It says a lot about the LNP and Mr. Laming that they think they can sit quiet for six months and give Mr. McGain his job back."[84]