Carey ‘nervous’ of public reaction

The touch on the elbow, the whisper in the ear — Pat Carey admits he was nervous about some of the approaches he’s had from total strangers in the last few days.

But those nerves swiftly eased when he realised that he wasn’t the vulnerable one in the encounters.

Since the former minister last week spoke publicly for the first time about being a gay man, he has become intensely aware of the struggles other people have around their own sexuality.