National MP Bob Clarkson has let loose with a vitriolic attack on gays, saying they are not normal, there are too many in Parliament, and gay parades are as distasteful as picking your nose in public.

"I don't mind gays," he told TV3's John Campbell, but he took exception to "gays pushing their barrow by having a gay parade… they can do what they like in their own home.” Referring to what he called 'gay parades', he said, "If people are offended you must be doing something wrong."

The Clarkson interview was the latest in a series of public outbursts where he suggests gays are not "normal" and gay parades are akin to "picking your nose in public." He first made his comments to the Manawatu Standard, including a complaint that "Islam religion-type people" should cease wearing burqas, in order to "fit in."

Clarkson defended his view as representative of "normal New Zealanders," adding that he was normal. “I don't lie, don't cheat, don't play around,” he told Campbell, adding that normal people “work and pay some tax.”

Later in the evening, he reiterated his views on gays to a gathering of supporters. He lampooned the Labour Party for having gay MPs, saying there were “more of those than normal, er, average ones.” He also reiterated that he “[didn't] want a gay parade… pushing their views down my throat.”

Prime Minister Helen Clark, referring to his earlier outbursts, told Newstalk ZB that Clarkson risked becoming a “standing joke”. Green MP Keith Locke has suggested the National Party would have to “pull him into line” over his outbursts.