The Mamamia office watching Julia Gillard’s speech.
By REBECCA SPARROW
I feel a little sick in the stomach about writing this post. Mostly because I know it’s going to infuriate a large number of women I admire. But here goes.
When Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave her ‘historic’ speech in Parliament during Question Time on Monday, I didn’t pump the air with my fist. I didn’t cheer. Or clap. There was no whooping. I was a whoop-free zone.
Why? Because I didn’t buy it.
When I watched the PM open a can of whoopass on Tony Abbott I didn’t feel like I was watching some spontaneous smackdown ignited by Abbott’s moronic “died of shame” comment. I didn’t feel like the PM had been tipped over the edge and just exploded into a speech that would strike the heart of every feminist.
Nope. I felt like I was watching the PM play her latest card in the “Let’s paint Tony Abbott as a misogynist” smear campaign. She had her notes ready to go and Abbott essentially cleared the stage.
Labor has a historical fondness for smear campaigns. This year in Queensland I saw Anna Bligh’s Labor government spread vile and completely untrue lies about Campbell Newman’s family via a letterbox campaign. Think what you like about Newman – love him or hate him, I don’t care – but the dirty tactics when discovered by Queensland voters was the nail in Bligh’s coffin.
Rebecca Sparrow: ‘Sorry Julia Gillard. I’m not buying it.’
And do I even need to remind anyone of the “Kevin Rudd is a psychotic power-mad dictator” campaign they rolled out against one of their own?
So, Tony Abbott.
Do I think the Leader of the Opposition is sexist? Yeah, I do. Do I think he allows his religious beliefs to influence his political decision-making. Yep.
But that doesn’t make someone a misogynist. What are we now? Qualified psychologists? Well, thank you Dr Phil. I think to throw that label around is so incredibly offensive it makes my head explode. Anyone who has dated or met a man who is a true misogynist knows what I’m talking about.
But the real kicker for me in Monday Question Time was for the Prime Minister to give a “I’ve had enough of the sexist, disgusting appalling things Tony Abbott has been saying about women” speech only to VOTE TO KEEP PETER SLIPPER AS SPEAKER. A man who wrote, oh you know, just a whole heap of creepy, sexist comments about women’s genitalia.
Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott during question time.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
No, really. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
And don’t DON’T even try telling me it’s because the PM is waiting for the outcome of legal proceedings. That’s to do with the court case between Slipper and Ashby. Peter Slipper’s foul comments about women were enough to deem him an inappropriate – HELLO MR CREEPY – choice as Speaker. Or is sexism and misogyny only a problem when it’s uttered from the mouths of a Liberal party member?
I’m at the point where I don’t even know what the Prime Minister actually stands for. (This is where I’d ideally like to open my own can of whoopass on the agreement she broke with Andrew Wilkie on poker machine reform. And the fact she’s backed out of key elements in the package of carbon tax reforms.)
But I digress.
Annabel Crabb summed it up perfectly yesterday when she wrote this on The Drum:
There is no doubt that our first female PM has been tried extensively by references, attacks and criticism that would never have been made of her male predecessors. Much of it has gained public ventilation thanks to a communications revolution that now allows front-bar remarks to achieve a national audience.
In a coruscating speech that went around the world, Ms Gillard finally let rip with her frustration about all this, and left no doubt about whom she considers to be responsible.
“The Leader of the Opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office,” said the Prime Minister, with the cold fluency she reserves for moments of genuine anger.
“Well, I hope the Leader of the Opposition has got a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation.”
Principle! Well, yes, sort of. Until you consider that the PM’s distaste for sexist remarks stopped at the door of her own Speaker. Yesterday afternoon, she decided to speak with the voice of principle but vote with clay feet. Subsequent events show she needn’t have; the Government now finds itself defending the ghost of the Speaker with the shreds of its principle.
I’m going to lay my cards on the table. I’ve voted for Labor in every federal election – bar one – since 1990 (I think I voted John Howard into office in 1996.) [Edit: In hindsight, I think I may also have voted Greens in the 2004 Federal Election as I was unable to bring myself to vote for Mark Latham] I like Prime Minister Gillard. And I think she’s at her best when she’s on the ropes. And on Monday Gillard was full of fiest and passion. The PM had many, many valid points to make about some of the appalling things that have been said to her and about her in politics. But that speech was about as impromptu as Brynne: My Bedazzled Life.
There are many things I love about the Labor party.
But their fondness for smear campaigns isn’t one of them. And PM? If you’ve got a real opinion, I’d like you to stick to it.
Frankly, next election, my vote is up for grabs.
Do you think politics has become all promise and no delivery? Are you tired of the game playing?
605 Comments so far
I’ll begin by saying I disagree with most of you assertions made in this article, but I respect that this is your opinion. Even if you don’t believe the PM’s speech was ‘authentic’, is that important? What she said need to be said, and she said it brilliantly. I personally believed the speech to be spontaneous and authentic after spending a great deal of time watching the PM speaking in many different situations and at different levels of pre-meditation. This felt spontaneous to me.
Secondly, the Prime Minister did clearly say she was offended by Slipper’s comments, but we have something wonderful in Australia known as the separation of powers. It is not the job of the Parliament to fire someone from their Parliamentary position based on evidence exposed by an open court case.
Thirdly, while I think Slipper’s messages were vile, bizarre, and, yes, creepy, they were private. There is no doubt in my mind that there would be equally damaging things exposed if everyone in the Parliament was forced to release all their private correspondence, let alone everyone in the country. Slipper’s messages should not detract from the fact that he was a very good Speaker, and managed to keep the House largely under control.
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It upsets me that someone can lose their job based on a couple of text messages that were not derogatory to anyone. Why can a man not have an opinion on what vagina’s look like.? I have heard the same comments from women.
I really hate how CEO’s and politicians can lose their jobs over fake moral outrage in Australia. I think it is discrimination. Thinly vailed homophobia if you as me in this case.
It is not for the public to judge a man on his personal life but on his public life. I do not like that a disgruntled employee with rich backer can rip someones life apart and rob him of his dignity and his most treasured position in parliament . it is so wrong and makes me ashamed our politicians didn’t get up and say- it is wrong instead of pretending to outraged by comments they may have made themselves.
I also feel greatly for a man who gave over twenty years of his life to public office only to be humiliated and robbed at the end of his career.
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As someone said below, do you actually believe that if those text messages had been found on Tony Abbott’s phone, people would be saying “Oh they’re private messages and have nothing to do with anything?”
No, they wouldn’t.
It’s about the integrity of the role of Speaker
As for the PM’s speech, I thought she made terrific points except for directing so much of it at Tony Abbott.
How about the next day when she complained about him calling her ” a piece of work” — claiming sexism! WTF?
THIS from a woman who made the homophobic slur of calling Christopher Pyne a mincing poodle. Way to go insulting the gay community and making sweeping generalisations on the way gay males behave.
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How exactly is comparing mussels to vagina’s so terrible that someone loses their job. I was out with a group of very middle class ladies and they commented on the same thing when a few shelled mussels came with our meal. What is so terrible?
Why are someone private texts being released publicly over a civil case? How is it anyone’s business what a man texted to a friend( not a employee at the time) when he has not been found guilty of anything.
that entire integrity concept is nonsense. integrity would involve someone not losing their job of a few text messages that did not demean or insult anyone. Homophobia is more like it .
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I’m sure Tony Abbott loves women as long as they keep to their place. He’s a man who grew up with a cheer squad of adoring women around him, he’s a conservative catholic man who doesn’t believe in abortion but believes it’s okay for a man to let his pregnant girlfriend put a baby up for adoption and not take responsibility for the baby himself. It’s not like Julia Gillard has just had to put up with a few off color jokes. There has been a relentless campaign to undermine her authority in everyway. Alan Jones also made the comment she should be put in a chaff bag and dumped at sea. Even the Juliar tag – since when has any politician NOT lied. Show me a politician who isn’t a hypocrite – that is part of being a politician, bloody hell it’s part of being human. Except apparently for the saintly types casting judgement on Julia Gillard. Apparently a woman in power should canonised as a saint before she dares exercise power.
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I think Tony is allowed to have his own opinion on abortion. That does not make him sexist. It makes him conservative and religious but that may be why people vote for him.
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If Tony Abbott was the misogynistic sexist pig you assert him to be, it would be reflected in his daugthers. If he thought women belonged at home, serving their men — he would either have daughters who were married, not studying and being SAHM at the ages of 21. OR they would be doing what they are doing — working, studying, travelling the world – and not talking to him. Instead he has a terrific relationship with them. That tells you something about his true beliefs.
And way to go justifying Julia Gillad’s continuous lies by saying “well all politicians lie”. Great defence.
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Yeah, because no kids rebel against their parents beliefs!
My dad is quite the bigot, and I am nothing like him in many ways. And that was sometimes a conscious choice, and sometimes it’s just me.
I have a good relationship with him, I just don’t agree with him about a LOT of stuff. It is possible!
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They campaign with him. So clearly the support him.
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Thank you Bec, your statements are 100 percent accurate. Thank heavens for intelligent women like yourself seeing past the gender crap and seeing it for what it is. I think the speech by Julia was appalling and has blown what small speck of credibility she has left. I think she owes Tony Abbot an apology. To berate him for being a mysognist is indefensible and inaccurate. A mysognist by definition is someone who has a true hatred towards towards women. Tony Abbot may be many things but he is not a mysognist. He has a loving wife, daughters and many females on his electorate, I have never seen any behaviour that would indicate mysogny. What an absolute hypocrite Julia is, she berates Tony Abbott for a friendship with another ‘mysognist’ Peter Slipper( that was years ago) but SHE VOTED HIM IN AS SPEAKER only a year earlier! Do not get on your high horse when she is nothing but a liar and someone with low values herself (is stabbing Rudd in the back worth a round of applause)? If you look into that particular day Tony Abbot said NOTHING to inflame the tirade from her. It was simply another planned, calculated and lw way to try and improve her waning opinion polls. Very sad day for Australian Politics, for heavens sake run the country and stop this childish school yard tactics, no wonder we are a laughing stock overseas. And for all the people that have ‘fist pumped’ Julia’s disgraceful speech as a win for feminism, I am truly disappointed with you all, do your research and some reflection and reconsider. If I had a daughter I would use this as an example of how NOT to behave. I hope she damn well retracts that mysoginy comment, I find that truly offensive on his behalf that he was slandered with that term, disgusting.
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getitrightplease, thanks for your viewpoint. (genuine) I think “smear campaign” are words that should be chosen carefully. I don’t agree with the Gillard governments support of Slipper but do think the liberal support of him over many years should be noted. I think the PMs address to parliament should be noted in the context of the politics and where else could she go? but the points she made in her address were factual. factual. the list of evidence against Tony Abbott was frightening. Who could support a man who stood beside such signs and with such placards? I can’t but feel that despite being Julia being a political animal, that the sentiments were genuine. And how wonderful that she could say them. In her place I would be beyond offended. So while I see the political dead end she was trying to avoid and I do not support the entirely politicised support for slipper (thank you independents for telling him the line has been crossed) I cannot but cheer for the wholehearted emotion behind this speech made in parliament. & acknowledge that as far as Slipper is concerned, the line was also crossed by Liberals.
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Bec, you are a legend! My mum and I were only just having this conversation this arvo. Julia’s tirade was obviously planned – probably in response to the micro second of positive PR Abbott got last week when his family decided to speak up. I’m sick of women being so over sensitive too. We fought to be treated as equal but then cry when the going gets a bit tough! I wish they’d all just grow up and actually do what we paid them to do!
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Let’s not kid ourselves – it’s Question Time, in Parliament. It’s always going to be theatrical. It’s a speech for the Prime Minister, likely to have a large lead and a lot of work behind it. Julia Gillard did deliver it passionately and clearly. When did Question Time capture so much if our attention last? Decide what you want to about the leader or each party, that’s how our democratic nation decides who leads. Tiny Abbott did specifically say that the Government should have died of shame, directly after a huge media furore about the exact same reference being made about PM Gillard’s father dying of shame. When questioned by media, Abbott said he had forgotten all about the comment. Not buying it. The great thing is, Julia Gillard is making steps where no woman had done so before, so I say, keep representing yourself and your party with such a strong presence! The people of Australia can work out who they prefer in the votes. And, what Peter Slipper said about vaginas looking like mussels is not the most outrageous thing in the world…
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When I saw Julia’s appalling speech on television, one of my first thoughts was ‘I bet Mamamia writes an article in support of what Julia has said’…thank f#ck you did not.
Bec I’m not sure which women you were referring to when you said you would infuriate them, but if they’re good enough to have you as an admirer, than I would hope that they can see through this political act.
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Good on you Bec, I’m with you on this one.
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, Women’s Weekly editor-in-chief Helen McCabe doesn’t think Tony Abbott is a misogynist either. Helen apppeared on the Paul Murray Live program on Sky News last Monday
Helen McCabe: He [Tony Abbott] really does relate very well to women. Anyone that spends any time with him [knows] he does like women. He hires them, he treats everyone the same. Yeah he’s blokey, yeah he’s kind of an alpha male, yeah he surfs and he fights fires and is saving little old ladies and stuff. I mean, that is Tony Abbott. But, the Labor Party seems completely obsessed with it.
Now is it coming up in the focus groups? Perhaps it is amongst Labor voters so it must play with them and there must be some unease in sections of the community about that blokiness about Abbott. But it is a little bit related to his Catholicism and the abortion debate as well, I think there is a bit of the anti-catholic element in there as well.
But, from personal experience, can I just say? Any time I’ve spent with Tony Abbott, I don’t find him to have a problem with women at all. And a lot of female journalists who spend time with him – we’ve discussed this in private – many of us feel very similarly about it.
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Excellent. I’m sure he does relate well to women in person. However, his track record of sexist remarks and old-fashioned ideas don’t go over well with me.
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I wish these two morons would just stop with the slander and get on with running the country!
We have very serious problems that need some very serious solutions, it’s not circus time.
I think the PM should be the highest paid person in the country, AND be made accountable for their successes and failures just like any other MD or CEO of a company. Get rid of all these low paid clowns and actually incentivise highly intelligent and highly experienced people to run our country.
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“A man who wrote. oh you know, just a whole heap of creepy, sexist comments about women’s genitalia.”
I trawled through the whole 200 texts to make up my own mind about Slipper’s alleged misogyny and sexism.
There were two (as in 2) texts referring to female parts, and it has been reported what they were. Those, and the ones on other topics also reproduced in media ( what.. maybe a dozen in total?) floated in a sea of boring, everyday texts, mostly about work.
I think Slipper is a bit of a sleaze, but any more than the average?
Not from what i have seen.
Sexist? If at all, definitely nowhere approaching the average!
The sad part about Gillard’s speech is that it should have ever come to this point.
The sexism – and the more general nastiness – that has been allowed to build, should have been checked long ago, but Gillard, out of fear of being seen as some weak, whiny b**ch, would not permit it.
I cheered when Bob Brown first called it out after the Carbon Tax Rally, and again a few months before his retirement. He was ignored. We ignored him, and went along with the pretense that it was all fair in the ‘rough and tumble’ of politics, and in the name of ‘freedom of speech’,whatever that means.
It is a measure of how entrenched sexism is that we cannot recognise and discuss it maturely.
All that being said, i saw Gillard’s speech being the letting go of long pent anger, indignation and personal hurt, and i, along with hundreds of thousands of women-and many men- here and around the world, felt my spirit soar.
It may be a political mistake, especially if people are unable to recognise the honesty of her passion, but i can’t wish it undone.
It was one glorious moment.
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“The sexism – and the more general nastiness – that has been allowed to build, should have been checked long ago, but Gillard, out of fear of being seen as some weak, whiny b**ch, would not permit it.”
This is it. Exactly. And it has been in the responses as well. That she’s whiny, a harpy, a harridan, a shrew. Just for saying stuff. Where are the male equivalent sledges when a bloke questions or disagrees? There are none. And please, no, dickhead doesn’t carry the same punch as any of those and you lot know it.
I am loathe to play the sexist card myself, but those sledges are gender based. As Penny Wong so eloquently pointed out, she did nothing wrong in pointing out the crap that women have to cop every day.
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Its all ego, man. Let is go and get on with the important stuff! The world is in a real dire state if you care to take a look. Its time to act like real grown ups and not like tantrum-ing kids. Be respectful of one anther and treat each other with the care and consideration with which you would want to be treated. Then just do your jobs – and try to work together for a change instead of always opposing. The opposition was originally supposed to play ‘devils’ advocate and keep the ruling party honest. Now, its just a shambles and nothing gets done. Come on, get over it and work together for the good of the people.
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And if Tony Abbott said that women’s genitalia looked like “salty c$$%’ s in brine” in a text message would you still think it was hunky dory, would he still be just “a bit of a sleaze” ?? Oh no I can tell you the answer, you and all of the ALP would be baying for blood. You cant have it both ways, if you wouldnt accept it from TA you cant accept it from Slipper either.
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I would feel the same- no one should have to justify private texts unless they are of criminal or indicated serious issues. Last time I checked thinking vagina’s looked like mussels was just observation. last time I checked swearing was a national,past time.
Tony could utter the same things and I would not feel ill toward him.
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Isn’t it always these silly things that try to distract us from the real, important issues. Who needs soap operas when we have parliament time! Seriously, I am so worried about the state of each country, where the politicians give themselves pay rises while watching the unemployment rates rise. While parliamentary speakers are given time off on full pay. And where opposing parties rant at each other like children in kindergarten, and go home each night having earned a huge amount of money!
And probably the biggest concern is that we all sit back and take it, thinking this is normal and we can never change it.
If we don’t change it, very shortly we will be living in a grossly divided society due to the total loss of middle class. And it won’t matter which party is in ‘power’ because the way the system is currently built, allows for nothing useful to ever get done.
We’ve got to start caring about each other, because the politicians have no clue what to do and just play these silly soap opera games, while time is ticking away and the world situation grows worse and worse.
I’ve been watching these things called ’round table events’ at a site called mutualresponsibility.org – its a new form of public discourse where we, the people, get to discuss and hear each other. I think these sorts of things are the only hope for us to break free from this old fashioned system of governance. That, and educating our kids and ourselves about the world and what is happening, and how to get along and get together to try to solve societal problems.
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Thanks for the tip on the website. Very cool
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Bec, I completely agree with you. Gillard’s speech was completely opportunistic. Abbott’s views on women are sexist and archaic (and will probably cost him the leadership), but that doesn’t make him a misogynist.
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If you were her, and had copped the crap that she has for the amount of time that she has, would you not take the opportunity of the laughable comments from the Opposition to call them out on it and tell them that it is not on anymore?
She was responding to comments made by the Opposition (Julie Bishop and Tony Abbott in particular) who had directly made claims about sexism and misogyny. Why is it a bad thing that the PM then ran with it and backed it up with example after example proving her point?
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Kris2040 I think you and I could be great friends!
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i really think the debate over definitions of sexism and misogyny is really clutching at straws… a guy is a sexist because he thinks women should stay at home but he is not a misogynist because he also likes it when women do as women should…? come on… clearly there are different levels of misogyny and clearly we all know that Gillard was talking about an insidious, ingrained kind that was actually normalising regressive attitudes towards women both in the parlament and filtering into the culture more broadly.
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Penny Wong was especially eloquent about this on 7.30. I highly recommend finding it on IView. She’s wonderful.
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And the Guardian’s editorial gets the context right:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/11/julia-gillard-australia-tony-abbott-sexism
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I’m a bit late to the party but was President Obama’s ‘yes we can’ speech impromptu? Was Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech impromptu? No. They were planned and planned carefully. That doesn’t take away from what the speeches actually said and how they inspired people. Of course the PM’s speech was planned and written and re-written and researched. When did the PM ever suggest that it wasn’t? That doesn’t take away from the content of the speech, the facts that it presented, the argument that it followed and the influence it had on women in Australia who are sick of seeing the PM abused on the basis of her gender rather than her policies and are sick of dealing with the same abuse in their own lives.
Why are Martin Luther King and President Obama lauded for the content of these wonderful PREPARED speeches and the PM is criticised for preparing hers? It’s the content that should be paid attention to, not whether it was thought up on the spot or not. Just as people who dislike the PM should be basing their reasons on the content of her policies rather than calling her a b*tch, witch, deliberately barren, a hysterical harpy and suggesting that she should ‘make an honest woman of herself’.
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Best rebuttal to date!
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Best: found out yesterday that I have been underpaid at my job all year!hopefully I will be able to get that changed and be back paid which will hopefully be enough to clear one of my credit cards. Also the little pup seems to have pretty much killed this toilet training thing- thank god!
Worst: its the end of the holidays, boo. Have to knuckle down and get this work done!
OMM: want to be debt free in 6 months so I can think about buying an investment property. Also want to start writing again- I miss being creative!
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Maybe add to the ‘worst for the week’ list, putting your list in the wrong place. Lol, have a good weekend.
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HI Everyone
I just want to say thanks for all your comments and the truly interesting debate.
Here are my final words on the matter.
It’s all about spin.
Labor can call Tony Abbott a sexist because they have loads of evidence to back it up.
The Libs can call Julia Gillard a liar because similarly they have loads of evidence to back that claim up (when she has lied or reneged or backflipped).
Enough!
How about we go back to creating great policy? That’s all I’m saying.
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But Libs dont have evidence she lied. In fact, there are not allowed to call her a liar in parliament. Malcolm Turnbull is on record this week saying a change in policy is not the same thing as a lie. LNP have made the ‘supposed’ carbon tax lie to be the dominant discourse in parliament. Again, Malcolm Turnbull complained over the amount of questions on carbon pricing during question time.He suggested the opposition should focus on more policy issues. His party didnt listen to him as all week they have been producing claims on electricity bills (which incidentally were proven false or a lie).
I find it offensive that you have tried to justify ALP’s claims of sexism as being on the same basis & evidence of ALP being liars. Backflipping isnt lying. There is pressure on PM to support marriage equality. If she changed her view on that would you call her a ‘liar’?
Everyone is entitled to own views but when they are formed on the biased spin churned out by media or political parties themselves it shows a lack of education on the issues.
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Guess I have a lack of education then. I really believed her when she said there would be no carbon tax under the government she leads. But now I know that if only I was better educated I would not have believed this and completely expected the introduction of the carbon tax.
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“a lack of education on the issues”
If you missed out on the full phrase, or missed out on the difference in meaning, it could explain how/why so many people missed out on the PM’s full sentence about carbon tax – the rest of it about placing a price on carbon.
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No, workingmum, because of the edit most Australians don’t realise what she actually said was, “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead, but let me be clear on this, I AM DETERMINED TO PRICE CARBON.”
If you say something often enough, it becomes truth. Both sides of politics know this.
On another matter, does anyone know if Abbott is planning to make changes to the Family Tax Benefit? I really want to know this as he has made noises about lowering it and I can’t seem to find a definitive answer to this. This really would affect many, many more families than the carbon tax ever would.
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Oh come on. She did of course say that there wouldn’t be a carbon tax. But in order to form a government she had to concede to some of the wishes of the Greens and Independents. It’s not like she had a crystal ball that let her see into the future. If she had known that she would have to introduce a carbon tax and then said that she wouldn’t do it, THAT would be a lie. Not having to change her mind on something. I once said that I would never weigh more than 60kgs. I currently weigh 62kg. That doesn’t make me a liar, it makes me mistaken.
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But there’d are so many examples of this ‘policy change’ strategy. My problem with Gillard is 1) she has been incompetent in carrying out policy, such as the building education revolution, and 2) she keeps changing her mind. Seems like the carbon tax was unpopular with rudd as leader so she said she wouldn’t introduceit. Then she had to make a deal with the greens to get into government so she put it through. She keeps reacting to other politicians instead of putting forward her party’s policy with confidence and leadership. and perhaps it shows how divided labor is on many of the issues. That and her appalling economic management skills are why I will not vote labor.
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Mumof2cheekymonkeys – I’m a high school teacher currently on maternity leave and let me assure you, the education revolution is well under way. Is it perfect yet? No. Does it need more work? Absolutely. But thank goodness we finally have a national curriculum for a variety of reasons. Thank goodness we had money injected into the system to build new (desperately needed) buildings and sun shelters (which despite some sensationalist headlines, schools LOVED). After 10 years of Howard we, literally, were falling apart at the seams. People can say what they like about her as PM, but I truly believe her commitment to education.
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Im with you about the BER. I know it’s not finished, but for us parents the school halls/multi purpose buildings are great. They can be used for sports, assembly, school functions and can be hired out after hours.
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I really don’t get why people are so negative about the ber. Our school built a new resource centre with some small group study rooms, equipped with computers and an interactive white board. This was long overdue and allowed us to spend other money on upgrades to air conditioning in classrooms and new carpet to replace the asbestos tiles in some of the older rooms. Furthermore, the carrying out of the ber was not done by the federal government as state governments have that responsibility. So if it was mishandled then that was done by the states not Feds. Also we finally have a national curriculum after many previous governments (labour and liberal) failing to do it
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Building the education revolution was overwhelmingly a success, with complaints emanating from only 3% of schools involved – http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/BuildingTheEducationRevolution/Documents/BERITfinalreport.pdf. What was spectacularly unsuccessful (and puzzling) was the inability to sell this message. And that is to me a central problem for Gillard – she does achieve a lot but can’t sell what she does.
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Happy to see someone admitting their lack of education on the ‘carbon tax lie’. Firstly, what PM said on more than one occasion during the 2010 election campaign was that she ruled out a carbon tax, but that she wanted to legislate putting a price on carbon to eventually lead to an emissions trading scheme. She said she wanted to do this in the coming parliament if elected. What PM did was introduce legislation to put a price on carbon with a commitment to go to an emissions trading scheme by 2015. The document is a good explanation of how it will work: http://www.garnautreview.org.au/update-2011/update-papers/up6-carbon-pricing-and-reducing-australias-emissions.pdf
Just because Abbott & the likes of Jones like to call the PM a liar & therefore undermine the importance of addressing climate change (which according to them is absolute crap) does not make the PM a liar. If anything, it proves the opposite are guilty of it.
Also, in case you forget, we have a minority Government where the Greens & most independents made it clear they supported the introduction of carbon pricing. In fact, as Tony Windsor explained, Tony Abbott would have done the same thing if he had been asked, but Mr Abbott wasn’t asked, which was a matter of sound jugement by the independents.
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1. The Carbon Tax (Julia Gillard has admitted to saying she would not introduce it and that “circumstances had changed”)
2. The Carbon Tax Reforms (regnegged on key elements)
3. Andrew Wilkie agreement
4.I will not challenge the leadership
http://www.news.com.au/national-old/yes-i-vowed-no-carbon-tax-julia-gillard/story-e6frfkvr-1226012683197
There’s four.
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So it’s not actually the policies that you have trouble with, it’s Julia Gillard herself? That’s more and more what it sounds like you’re saying, Bec.
Good to know you’ve never had to compromise for expediency though.
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So these are examples of the PM lying?
See above responses which challenge 1)
2) what key elements on carbon were renegged? Were reasons given as to why this was so? Does adjusting a policy equate to a lie?
3) Wilkie’s original pokies reforms were unlikely to be passed & therefore were amended so they could get through House of Reps & Senate. How does this make her a liar? She honoured her commitment to address the issue.
4) Did she actually categorically rule out ever challenging for leadership? She was asked repeatedly about it for quite awhile. Eventually she did challenge & from all accounts the majority of the party were demanding that she did so. This doesnt mean she wasnt telling the truth earlier when she said she was happy being deputy.
Imagine if every time someone changed an opinion or amended their policies they are labelled a liar. I dont agree with that summation.
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Good to see your comment got through, Bernadette.
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Indeed Kris, indeed!
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See the thing is despite my lack of education I am a swinging voter. I tend to form my voting intention quite late in the campaign. When JG made her comment about there being no carbon tax under her government it was quite close to the election and did sway a lot of people to vote for her government. I was one of them.
Call it what you like, emissions trading, carbon tax, carbon pricing, whatever. People feel betrayed. We believed her. Now in addition to feeling betrayed and lied to we have to feel uneducated too.
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Bec, really? There are policy changes all the time in politics and there always have been. Howard with his ‘no GST’ comment. Howard with his, ‘yes GST but we’ll get rid of some other taxes for you’ (UM. NOT!). Tony Abbott saying he wouldn’t raise the medicare safety net before the election and then doing it within months of being reelected. Howard apparently promising Costello the top job and then losing the election due to his inability to let go (I actually think Costello would have made a good, boring PM).
The list goes on and on and on and on……
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This is the first time I have ever responded to a comment on a Mamamia post. I am sorry to say it is, much like my virginity, not the ‘first time’ I quite had in mind!
Bernadette, was it in fact you that attended that now infamous dinner in Parliament House last night as the paid commedian? You know, the one that made those offensive jokes about TA? I can see no other reason for your comments – surely you are going for gags?
Let me make a few points. Firstly, you pointing out that you can’t use the adjective ‘liar’ in parliament means absolutely nothing. It is not allowed by convention as the word is deemed “unparliamentary’. That obviously (duh!) has nothing to do with whether a statement is a truth or untruth. So, let me say, the PM is a liar. I’m not saying it in parliament so it can not be deemed unparliamentary. Perhaps the speaker of the house will ‘come get me!’. Oops, he can’t…. My bad.
How about the other gem “a change in policy is not a lie”. Sounds a bit reminiscent of “I did not have sexual relations with that woman…. Ms Lewinsky….” Come on!! A lie is a lie is a lie. Is STILL a lie. Of course a change in position can be a lie. Especially when it reads like this… (live on national television). “There will NOT be a carbon tax under a government I lead”. So according to your reasoning when there IS one, it is no longer a lie! You should sell real estate!
Next let me take issue with your use of the word ‘offensive’ which, for the record, I find offensive (chortle!). I was going to quote your sentence in which this word appears (inappropriately)… but I re-read it… and it doesn’t make any sense…
Bec has called a spade a spade – and for that you are calling her “offensive”? Are you fo’ shizzle??
Gillard HAS lied. Repeatedly. And hung parliament SCHMUNG parliament. A lie is a lie is a lie. Did John Howard just introduce the GST without due process cause he like it? NO. He did the moral thing and TOOK IT TO AN ELECTION. Unlike the current PM. Who pulled a Judas Iscariot in relation to it – denied it but then introduced it.
And what about how she duded Andrew Wilkie? There simply is NO explaining that away in your partisan fashion. Deceitful. Amoral. Shameful. INSERT APPALLING ADJECTIVE HERE…..
I could go on. But reality awaits. And if you still think you are right Bernadette? Check your latest Newspoll. Not many people agree with you.
Go Bec – about time someone on Mamamia voiced the concerns of any number of labor voters.
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she did not say- there will be no carbon tax under a government i lead.
SHE SAID- there will be no carbon tax under the government i lead, but let me be clear there will be a price on carbon.
unfortunately the freaking MSM does not like to report the full truth. they are the liars
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Given that every dire quote attributed to TA is given without any context over and over and over again I find this outrage at “the freaking MSM does not like to report the full truth. they are the liars” quite amusing.
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we have a 70%murdoch owned media who are totally right wing.
but gosh no of course we don’t have a biased media.
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Sam. Did you not read any of the above comments. She did say she would introduce a price on carbon & move towards an emissions trading scheme which is what she did. Here is a link seeing you have obviously never heard this before: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/julia-gillards-carbon-price-promise/story-fn59niix-1225907522983,
A lie is a deliberate known untruth with an intention to deceive. I do not believe she intended to deceive about carbon tax nor intended to deceive Wickie. In fact, she never needed to do deal with Wickie for his vote anyway, so the fact she is proceeding with a pokie trial means she is trying to honour her pledge. It is unlikely he will be reelected with that sort of power again so this is his only chance & he has blown it by having a major tanty & ripping up his agreement – more fool him.
Last time I checked newspoll Julia Gillard was the preferred PM, had a higher satisfaction rating & lower disastisfaction rating than Tony Abbott. There was about a 2 point difference between the vote that got ALP into a minority Gov last election and current one with still 1 year out. So not quite the wipeout that people think.
I hope you are Greens or independent voter. It would be a bit rich blaming PM of lying when Abbott lies repeatedly about the carbon price for falsely blaming businesses being shut down to incorrectly claiming electricity price rises to blaming it for lack of investment (examples all documented in hansard of their dodgy tricks).
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1. Gillard had a moral obligation to take Wilkie’s pokies reform to parliament. They had a written agreement.
2. The PM campaigned on a “there will be no carbon tax” pledge and – as you’ll note from your link – the DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION – dropped in “but I am determined to put a price on carbon”.
That was a strategic move so that people like you, could google it retrospectively and say “But look! She didn’t lie!” And how many voters do you think managed to read that story the day before the election?
By your thinking Bernadatte, politicians can do and say whatever they need to do and say when their backs are against the wall. How novel.
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For all who think Julia’s speech was actually hurting woman – i just read this great article this morning
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/9597072/Balls-to-femininity-start-shouting-Julia-Gillard-style.html
worth reading!!!
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I’m with you Bec. I’m so tired of the Gillard vs Abbott show. I never thought I would consider abandoning Labour, let alone a female PM! But I am truly open to hearing what someone else has to say and I find myself hoping that Malcolm Turnbull takes the reigns of the Libs simply because I am interested in what he has to say. I’ve been impressed with him lately and in terms of pushing forward with feminism, I think it is going to take a great man to move the next few mountains. Maybe ….he’s it??
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It’s pretty sad that whoever her advises are didn’t say – “vote to remove Slipper and give the speech backing up why enough is enough and don’t use the word misogyny but use examples of all the sexist stuff she has put up with” Then she would have some credibility. I am so relieved you said this Bec. I agree with you 100% and have been thinking the same thing myself. I just find it really sad that politics has got to this – they talk the talk about wanting to get back on task and actually run the country but I’m not seeing it!!!
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Here is the full speech that Julia gave (about 15 mins worth). It is quite enlightening. One of the very interesting parts was that apparently the liberal/nationals supported the preselection of Peter Slipper for 20 years – Abbott even attended his wedding and described him as a friend! So I don’t think they are anywhere near as removed as they are painting themselves from the problem. And as Julia Gillard says, when he is talking about ‘taking responsibility’ maybe he should think about taking responsibility for the young liberals conference where the revolting remarks about Gillards father were made – I haven’t heard any comments from him on that?
Here is the link http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/gillards-fiery-retort-did-the-mainstream-media-get-it-wrong-20121011-27eqg.html
I think that yes, Gillard had her speech prepared, but after the last few weeks can anyone blame her? Yes she might have been waiting for an opportunity to have her say, but after what was said about her (and especially her father) I would say that she has been remarkably restrained in not saying anything until now!
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no matter who supported or was friends with Slipper in the past once those comments were public the liberal party passed a vote of no confidence which the labor party voted against. at the same time Julia stood up and made a speech about sexism – therein lies the hypocrisy.
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Tony Abbot wanted Slippers support the very next day!! Therein lies the hypocrisy.
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Abnd after proposing the ‘no confidence’, Abbott asked Slipper for his vote. Therein lies what, exactly??
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So it’s okay or JG to change her mind/backflip, but not TA? The real female victim in all of this must surely be Peter Slipper’s wife.
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If only she’d sung it.
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Hopefully someone will songify it
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Thank you!!! I am sad that so many people have chosen to remove the speech from its context and give it a life of it’s own. In another time, yes, a speech perhaps worthy of the acclamation it has received BUT in the arena in which it was presented – no. We have to give due diligence to what has happened. Just because a women gives an credible oratory doesn’t necessarily make it a work of feminist genius. Everything should be seen in context – just ask an NSW HSC student!
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Here is some context for everyone:
Abbott said: ‘This is a government which is only too ready to detect sexism—to detect misogyny, no less—until they find it in one of their own supporters’ … ‘And every day the Prime Minister stands in this parliament to defend this Speaker will be another day of shame for this parliament and another day of shame for a government which should have already died of shame’
Julie Bishop said: ‘Many of them are obscenely offensive and what female Labor members would describe as sexist and misogynist if anyone else had uttered them’ … ‘Does the Prime Minister think it is going to be easy for female delegates to go on trips overseas with the member for Fisher knowing the sexist, misogynistic views that the member for Fisher holds about women?’ …. ‘Can you imagine any one of those occupants of the chair ever descending to the type of sexist, offensive, obscene conduct that is enshrined in these text messages that the member for Fisher sent to his staff?’
I would have thought those comments were a perfectly reasonable context for the Prime Minister to have delivered her response. She was being called out to comment on misogyny & sexism & had the ‘died of shame’ comments thrown back in her face.
Also, does this mean that Abbott & Bishop were accusing Slipper of hating women? Of hating his wife? The woman whose wedding to SLipper Abbott supported?
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really enjoying your comments bernadette.
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I think Mamamia has an obligation to run a story PRO this speech, to give a voice to the thousands of women (like me) who DID fist pump while listening. She has changed the way I feel about woman in politics. Finally I feel I have an actually ally in government.
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umm..I’m surprised MM hasn’t replied to this.
You might want to read this which was posted shortly after the speech:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/why-julia-gillards-smackdown-speech-was-brilliant/
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You can, it’s right here and was published first:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/why-julia-gillards-smackdown-speech-was-brilliant/
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I think Gillard and her handler might live to regret her outburst. The Opposition will now showcase their women and get them to take the fight right up to her. I’d say she’s bitten off more than she can chew.
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Showcase their women? What a sad notion.
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More confected outrage from the perpetually offended feminists. Can we give it a break, please. You know what she meant, I know what she meant. I happen to agree. Gillard has started a fight she won’t win.
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I could not agree with this article more.
Yes, Tony Abbott may have made sexist remarks in the past. He has been called out on them. In the traditional understanding of the word, Tony Abbott is not a misogynist. He does not hate women. He does not dislike. He does not mistreat women.
Tony Abbott is the Opposition Leader. That is his job, to oppose. He is to question the government and hold them accountable to the public. Whether the Prime Minister is a male or female, he still has to do his job. Being a female Prime Minister doesn’t give you special privileges to be treated nicer than your male counterparts.
The comments to Julia Gillard were way out of line, I wholeheartedly agree with that, but can the government get back to debates about policy that has an impact on everyone, and not this blatant smear campaign?!
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What she said!
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While I agree with wishing that they would get on with more important matters Sophie, let’s not forget Tony Abbott has suspended standing orders (stopped the important matters of government) 70 TIMES now (and let’s face it, parliament doesn’t actually sit that often or for long) to debate issues in the media, give a vote of no confidence, talk about Peter slipper or drop Craig Thomson. All we see is members of parliament acting like children and talking about matters of little importance on the news for 10 seconds without actually realising it’s the opposition who is wanting to talk about these things.
It is Abbott’s job to question the government, but enough with the circus of personalities (and that goes for both sides).
Also, Abbott while definitely not a misogynist, has made very sexist statements in the past and passed legislation that is clearly an issue for a woman and her doctor, not a religious decision. I value our secular parliament deeply. I have felt this way about Abbott since he was health minister, long before any smear campaign began.
My vote would definitely up for grabs, as Bec suggests, but not while Tony Abbott is leading the Libs.
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“That is his job, to oppose”
No, it’s not. That’s how he is approaching it, and it is also why Australian politics is in such a state of disrepair. Perhaps all they need to change the name of the Opposition. How about Alternate? The Alternate Government.
The Alternate Leader, rather than the Opposition Leader.
Present alternate ideas, represent and advocate an alternate position. Compromise so that we can move forward, with both the Government and the Alternate position taken into account.
The adversarial system is such a stupid way to try to run a country.
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“The House depends on an effective Opposition to carry out its functions in respect of government accountability. Government members can usually be expected to support the Government with their votes and may not be inclined (at least in public) to be too critical of the Government’s actions or legislation. Opposition Members can be expected to criticise and to offer alternative views. The rules and procedures of the House enable the Opposition to perform this role.”
Straight from the APH website. His job is to oppose, criticise and yes, offer alternate views.
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Yes, but it’s now done on reflex, not on merit or belief, which I believe is the original intent.
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Maybe for policy Sophie, but not to suspend standing orders 70 times to debate and vote for crap. It’s always a stunt. Please Tony, I beg you, save you opposition for policy not for personalities.
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I have no issues with what Julia said, she’s only said what I’ve been thinking, seeing and experiencing at work and out and about in my daily life.
At nearly 40, I am a woman in a leadership role. I experience sexism daily as I work in a male dominated work place, Empathy is mistaken for being soft, then when I follow through, I’m harsh, a bitch. I can’t win. So I don’t care, I am who I am. I accept that my opinions, whilst honest are seen as blunt, therefore not suitable for further promotion. That’s ok, my husband will eventually earn more than me, then I can sit back and be the housewife that Tony thinks I should be, right?
The lack of respect for women in leadership positions is appalling. Screw the politics, she called out Tony Abbott on things he has said over the length of his political career. I don’t care who wins the next election, as long as Tony Abbott is not the next prime minister. The rest of you who think she’s being false, she’s not. She’s probably being honest for the first time in her career and I am fine with that.
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I’m not sure if you’ll read my comment Bec, since there are already over 400. But I think I’ll give it a go anyway.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Julia Gillard tried her best, went above and beyond to try to pass Mr Wilkie’s pokeys’reform action. But it wasn’t possible, she was blocked and easily so as it is a hung parliament. And that was also the reason why the government has been unable to pass a lot of the actions it had wanted to and promised to their supporters.
I’m just pointing it out, not because I’m unhappy that the government didn’t accomplish all it’s promises but because we are a democracy and we have a hung parliament, and since all the elected representatives have a responsibility to carry out what their supporters voted them in to-do the opposition by blocking the motions such as the pokeys’ reform and the carbon legislation, were in fact just doing what was right for their constituents.
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Lisa, the PM never tested it in Parliament, it never went to a vote.
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@Bradley I couldn’t imagine Angela Merkel having to make a speech like Australia’s PM, partly because she does not face the kind of sexist name-calling that Gillard has – being called a bitch or a witch would be unheard of in Germany. In regards to the article above, the vote to retain Slipper as speaker was done in order to uphold the principle of the separation of powers as outlined in the constitution. Gillard’s condemnation of Slipper’s language was unimpeachable. She voted to uphold the rule of law, rather than condemn him before a court case had been finalized.
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I’m a woman in my 50′s and i’m ashamed that our PM has used her gender in an attempt to shut down criticism of her and her Government.
If she truly believes she is being discriminated against because of her gender then she should take it to the anti-discrimination board. She won’t because it’s nothing more than confected outrage to distract the media and galvanize the feminist vote.
I’ve been employed in the corporate world for thirty years and find Gillard’s undignified outburst immature and damaging to the work that women have been doing for decades. She sounded like a spoilt teenager and I can’t wait to see the back of her and her Government.
Give me Julie Bishop and Bronwyn Bishop any day.
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HuCu – besides, Merkel’s had coalitions with different parties the whole time she’s been Chancellor. German politicians (from all sides) seem mature enough to respect the process & get on with the job of, you know, governing the country.
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Well said Bec! It was a very impressive speech..but the context it was given in tarnishes it. As cringe-worthy as the Tony Abbott comments she cited were, they paled when compared with Slipper’s trashy texts. The problem is it is the only good speech she has ever given..she can talk convincingly about something that directly affects her but where is the depth, where is the passion, where is the intellect, when she is trying to talk to Australians about important policies that will affect all our futures. None of the current crop of polititicians on either side seem to have any understanding of the policies they are peddling, it’s all about staying in power. It shows how superficial this parliament is and it is bloody depressing.
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There is another imporant point that keeps being left out of the reporting. These texts sent from Slipper to Ashby were prior to Ashby working for slipper. So he couldnt have been too offended by them if he then took up the job to work for Slipper. I find it amazing that so many people have expressed outrage about the vaginas look like mussels comments & calling out misogyny & sexism, but we are talking about a sexual harassment case by a man against another man. Where is the outrage about ‘homosexual’ harassment? The texts have been expolited by the LNP to be used as a sexism card against the ALP. So far the LNP’s involvement in the Ashby case has been very suspicious indeed from Pyne drinking beer with Ashby, asking for his email, denying he asked for his email, being shown evidence that yes he did ask for email, then admitting he forgot. To Mal Brough meeting with Ashby & giving advice on lawyers & media. Ashby going straight to media first without ever raising the harassment concerns with his employer. Of course Mal Brough is now running against Slipper in his electorate. Ashby’s legal fees are being provided free of charge by Liberal Party connected lawyers. All these facts have been uncovered & reported in independent media, but glossed over by mainstream media. When all these other issues are considered, it does make Abbott and his motion to sack him less credible indeed.
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I actually read all 272 pages of text messages yesterday. Comments between friends does not constitute harassment. Friends who had constant meals and drinks together, who swapped jam making tips, who had banter of a sexual nature.
Mr Ashby may not have liked it but he went along with it due to his political aspirations. He fancied running for office in the future and saw Mr Slipper and a good contact into that world.
It read to me like Mr Slipper was getting pissed off as Mr Ashby as he was working for opposing politicians in his free time and also loading inappropriate stuff on his facebook and twitter pages without his consent.
I personally can understand Slipper being pissed at him as I would not like my adviser helping opposing politicians or putting things on my twitter feed without my consent.
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I’m quite surprised that the only text messages that seem to be focussed on by the MSM are those between Ashby and Slipper. The text messages and emails exchanged between Ashby and Steve Lewis (News Ltd journalist) and Ashby and Karen Doane (Ashby’s colleague/another Slipper advisor) are also quite enlightening. From Ashby and Doane sending Lewis and Brough copies of Slipper’s diary so they could pursue the Cabcharge angle to Doane sending her resume to Brough and him confirming that he would help her get a job in the Queensland LNP. Then there’s Lewis and Brough working together, etc… And that’s just the mild stuff.
I’m not sure if these people were naive enough to assume their own personal correspondence would never be subpoenaed but this is no ordinary sexual harassment case. I’ve read every piece of evidence submitted to the Court and made public here http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/courtdocuments/ashby_cth.html as I’ve had to for work and while I don’t expect anyone else to do the same, if someone really wants to get an idea of what this case is about beyond what’s being shown on MSM they should at least look at the evidence labelled as submitted by the Commonwealth. Very hard to ignore what’s going on here.
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Whoah, I didnt realise that. Thanks, beans.
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You’re welcome Lulu! The sad part is that this information is available for every journalist to see – in fact it states on the main page that it’s been compiled all in one place because of the high number of media requests – yet so much is being omitted in reporting. The correspondence between Ashby and everyone other than the Slipper is the most interesting part of this whole case to me because the number of people who were involved in this before the first court document was even filed and the actions they took is a bit hard to believe. It’s been a good reminder though that even when we delete texts or emails, they’re never truly gone.
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Yes it is indeed sad how the mainstream media chose to provide us with severely edited & biased reporting. You would have thought their falling sales might have woken them up to improve their standards, but oh no, they keep playing us all as fools. Thomson issue is another matter where full truth isnt yet out. I eagerly await to find out who of the other ’5 people of interest’ in HSU will be facing an arrest charge. I have often visited question time & then gone home to see the edited version of the news & thought, what the hell was that? When Tony Windsor stop up in QT & berated Tony Abbott for his lies & his promises to become PM and angrily called him ‘an absolute disgrace’ most of the mainstream media reported it as another story of Tony Abbott accusing the PM of lying & demanding that she apologise to Australia over the ‘worlds biggest carbon tax’ being introduced at ‘the worst possible time’. I have learnt you just cannot trust the mainstream media to provide balanced reporting, particularly those who predictably run anti-Gov stories every fortnight leading up to their ‘polling’.
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What Amandarose said.
I also love this quote from Clementine Ford’s article yesterday:
“The real hypocrisy here is in trying to pretend that Peter Slipper’s awkward attempts at text flirting are in any way comparable to the sustained sexism displayed by Tony Abbott in his entire history of public office. Comparing a vagina to shelled mussels might be crass, but I’m fairly confident the women of Australia can cope. Unlike conservatives trying to spin this scenario to their advantage, I know what misogyny looks like. And I’d rather a man compare my vagina to a delicious, briny creature of the sea than have them tell me they know better than I what I should be doing with it.”
Great article, worth a read in full.
http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/playing-the-sexism-carda-guide-for-politicians-20121010-27cxp.html
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Bec, I don’t agree with your opinion at all (or rather – I don’t care if it wasn’t off the cuff, nor do I expect it was), but I’m glad that you and Mia chose to write an article from the opposite perspective than yesterday’s article. I’m loving that MM is engaging in politics and feminist debates now days! We’ve moved on from the endless bottle vs breast/home birth vs hospital debates and can now focus on some wider intellectual issues. Thank you!
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Yes, I’m with you on that. I’ve loved all the MM articles this week. They have been challenging and entertaining.
Keep up the good work guys!
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Thanks Alice!
To Mia’s credit she encouraged me to write my real feelings on this issue — even though she 100% disagrees with me!
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Have to disagree with you on this one Bec. I think the only real pre prepared part of JGs speech was the examples of TAs sexism that a staffer handed to her during her speech..
Misogyny nd misandry are flung about so often these days that I wonder if people stick to the strict dictionary meanings anymore.
Interestingly, I’ve read that the Coalition have approached both Craig Thompson and Peter Sliper since they’ve become independents. It would appear that lack of morals runs deep all through politics (surprise, surprise).
I still loved JGs speech. It was long overdue.
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Shouldn’t this article be titled, “Sorry Prime Minister…” ?
I stopped reading at the title… would be really great if regardless of people’s viewpoint for or against, they could respect our Prime Minister for the at times thank-less, massive task she takes on every morning.
Constructive criticism is great, but it should always be respectful. It’s time the media led the way and showed some respect for our top leader. I can only hope the doting public will then follow suit.
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No I don’t believe it needs to address JG as Prime Minister. Who cares?! Bec is merely expressing her views of the situation, not the person directly.
I think you disagree with the concept of the article and are commenting to be disrespectful to the author.
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Not at all – and rather than assuming what I’m thinking, it would be respectful to ask me first
I think Bec is a fantastic journalist, but I believe the PM should be addressed as the PM, not by her first name, which is used often for ridicule and to take inherent power away from a woman/person who is working in one of Australia’s toughest and most criticized positions.
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Just so you know this was on Tuesday, Parliament did not sit on Monday.
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Oh Rebecca you are so right. As a life long labor voter in my 50s I am so horrified at where Gillard is taking the party. It is utterly depressing to watch what is happening in Canberra and I cringed all the way through her speech. She seems almost like a character from Shakespeare in her frenzy to stay in power
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I thought that Bronwyn Bishop said it best when referring to the PM’s entry for the next series of “World’s Greatest Dummy Spits”…..can you imagine Angela Merkel or Maggie Thatcher carrying on like that ?
No. I couldn’t.
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Angela Merkel and Maggie Thatcher didn’t have sexist slurs slung at them from every direction during their time as leaders. Other countries seem to be a little bit more progressive and show a lot more respect.
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Who are you kidding? Margaret Thatcher had many, many sexist and genuinely misoginist comment directed at her during her time in office. In case you forgot she was a female Politician in the 1950s.
The problem with Julia Gillard is this was a means of deflecting from the real issues.
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Pernickety I know, but she only really started in politics in 1959. The bulk of her political career was in the 70s and 80s.
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hi Faybian, my comment was directed at Hannah, it just came in after yours.
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Actually Hannah, she was elected as the MP of Finchley in 1959. She became the Leader of the Opposition from 1975 to 1979, and was elected Prime Minister in 1979 and remained in that position till 1990. Also Prime Minister Thatcher did not receive the same amount of vitriol and sexist crap our prime minister has received, nowhere near.
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Ya wot ??????
Where were you when Thatcher was PM, then ? I can certainly remember reading that she had heaps of crap thrown at her.
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crap maybe, but not SEXIST crap. BIG difference Bradley.
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I don’t know Bradley.
I thought she held her emotions pretty well considering it was exactly one month since her Dad died and Abbott repeated Alan Jones’ phrase ‘died of shame’ directly to her face. With a smirk.
To suggest, after the fact, that it wasn’t a good ol’ wink towards Alan Jones’ comments about her Dad beggars belief, after all it is the most talked about phrase in Australia for over a week now.
One month. Since her Dad died. And he rubs it in. Top bloke that. Just a brave, brave man holding a government to account, and all that.
Now I know some people say it’s all just fun and games and the rough and tumble of politics, but I tell you, if Abbott had done that to me, I doubt words would have been my response, nor a ‘dummy spit’. I’d have leapt the table.
He knew the PM wouldn’t, but he certainly got a fantastic serve. His visibile and genuine uncomfortableness maybe not have been true justice for his actions, but by all things decent and good I cheered this speech.
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Maybe they all need to stop smearing each other and figure out how to run the country. The first one to do this has my vote!
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Bec, you have freaking read my mind!!!!!
For the last day or so I’ve been all, “yeah, that was an articulate smackdown but I dunno…” I was suspicious. Then I pieced a couple of things together. Slipper was the speaker Liberal didn’t want to have, and they (Liberal) offered a number of other possible names to Labor – Labor of course wouldn’t elect a speaker from their side of the fence because that would mean one less vote, and they are playing a REALLY tricky numbers game to just hang on to power by the thinnest of threads. They probably knew Slipper would resign but they couldn’t miss the opportunity to launch into this misogyny speech as the opportunity might never arise again. And yes, the irony and hypocrisy of defending Slipper by way of accusing Abbott was bloody disgusting.
No, Abbott’s not my hero and neither is Gillard. I’ll be voting on policy NOT the ability to deliver a speech. I’ll be voting for who I think will bring about change so that I can afford to pay an electricity bill next year.
And if the PM’s most memorable moments in government were; 1. stabbing her leader in the back and then, 2. delivering a hypocritical scolding to her counterpart well…that’s a bit sad, really.
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Why do you think it was hypocritical?
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Gutsy article Bec. Agree 100%. All this name calling is an embarrassing distraction from the real issues the government and opposition should be concentrating on.
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Personally, I find it hard to believe the PM really believes in anything she says.
She is running the ‘feminism’ line in a bid to show the men and women should be equal in politics and in society…because she is a woman and she has had to deal with inequality. Fair enough.
But what about equality in other forms, particularly gay rights? She can’t just pick and choose which equality she wants to support because it works for her and her campaign.
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Hi – why was my comment not posted? It wasn’t nasty or trolly, it just opposed Bec’s viewpoint and said why.
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So the PM makes one speech and all of a sudden the ALP is running a smear campaign against TA (how can it be smear anyway when there were so many facts in her speech)?
The greatest smear campaign of the last two years has been run by TA against a price on carbon on two fronts – that it will ruin us financially – and that JG is a liar. It was reported in the SMH today that Australian’s are the wealthiest people in the world, but TA doesn’t want us to feel like the wealthiest people in the world – because that wouldn’t suit him politically. ….so he keeps trying to scare us (and failed miserably today http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-suffers-bill-shock-20121010-27dkg.html) So he doesn’t really care about the well-being of Australians.
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Where on earth have you been, Ava ?
The ALP and left leaning blogs and journalists have been running the line for months…if not longer.
Google some examples. No need for me to supply links because there are plenty of examples only a few keystrokes away from the tips of your fingers.
For you to pretend that this campaign against Abbott is just something that has cropped up over the past few days is really quite ludicrous. Playing “dumb” does more harm to the feminist cause than good. Sorry !
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I know right? I don’t care if it was rehearsed, it was awesome and it was full of FACTS.
It is slanderous to call JG a liar, but nothing is said ever. And from what I understand, it isn’t parliamentary procedure to vote out Slipper like that. And I would put money on the fact that if the Coalition held the majority of seats they would make such a stink about this. I don’t have rose coloured glasses on about the intentions of the ALP, but let’s be realistic – they BOTH needed things to go their way because of the balance of power being the way it is.
And to paraphrase the PM – Slipper was a Liberal for how long? And Tony Abbott went to his wedding, surely he is in a greater position to know what the man is like than an opposing politician.
Abbott needed that dressing down and by association so did every male politician who thinks it’s appropriate to make comments about a female politicians home life, appearance, family choices or looks – things that would never be levelled at a man. (Take note bra snapping, chair sniffing WA Libs)
Just take it on it’s merit – she’s no Germaine Greer but it is a step in the right direction to me.
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Mark Twain once said “It takes three or four weeks to prepare for an good impromptu speech!”
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“And to paraphrase the PM – Slipper was a Liberal for how long? And Tony Abbott went to his wedding, surely he is in a greater position to know what the man is like than an opposing politician”
I think this is one of the most bizarre points in Gillards speech. I believe Kevin Rudd went to his wedding too…although I fail to see how attending soomeone’s wedding is in any way relevant.
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It is very relevant if you then call him out for sexism & misogyny.
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Sorry still can’t connect the dots on this line of argument.
Abbott, because he went to a **wedding 8 years ago of someone who has just recently been exposed as sending sexist/harrassing texts to a gay guy, is patently a misogynist and sexist? (**also attended by about 200 others including Kevin Rudd ..are they all misogynists by association too?) Sorry but you’ve lost me.
I went to a movie once about rape and murder..how guilty am I ?
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Its also been independently proven we have the highest carbon tax in the world and have also jumped to the highest taxed nation in the world overall since Julia gillard took office. I don’t know about you but I’m getting a little sick of so many new taxes hitting us one after another with no break.
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But the carbon tax is a tax on carbon applied to big polluters. It is not a tax paid by the Australian public. If companies decide to pass on those costs (and a lot more) to the public then that is them taking advantage of the situation. I honestly can’t say the carbon tax has had much of an impact on me.
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Both of these claims are incorrect. Please come back with the ‘independent’ evidence to back it up.
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Google the NY times article about th Australian carbon tax, it was only a month or so ago. The author listed all the carbon taxes from around the world. Mst of them are about ten times lower than ours. And if you think the big polluters won’t pass the price onto the consumer you are being a bit naive.
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Oh Bec SO glad you wrote this ! I 100% agree with you and wrote a similar (far less eloquent) comment on the YAY FOR JULIA post the other day. I wasn’t jumping for joy or that impressed either because her behaviour doesn’t back it up! I also agree that it was exaggerated and extremely harsh labelling Tony Abbott a misogynist. I have always voted Labor too and am not a fan of Mr Abbott, however to attack him so fiercely as a misogynist was too far in my opinion. I don’t trust Julia and although I am sure she is against sexism I feel she often puts politics before values.
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“Lucky he was wearing some impeccably, impeccable white Calvin Klein undies and not the ones my husband usually gets around in. Sometimes there are so many holes involved it’s just a waist band and a small y-front begging for mercy. Also, I wouldn’t allow my husband within 50 paces of a white anything but I’m pretty sure Keith shits filtered dew drops so you just know they’ll be pristine at the end of the day… Too far?!”
why is the above quote from Em in a voice article acceptable but comparing women’s bits to mussels is not?
Double standards much?
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Bec Sparrow, I just love your writing!
I for one am insulted by this speech. Having dealt with sexism myself in the corporate world I believe the best way of dealing with it is to prove the culprits wrong and do a great job. Ms Gillard has not done that, and this speech seems like an attempt to deflect from that. Sexism is not tolerable. Mysoginy is abhorrent, (but let’s not kid ourselves, Abbott is certainly not that). Crying wolf diminishes real victims of mysoginy – the abused, the downtrodden, the desperate. And most importantly, parliament is not the place for a debate on sexism. Play it out in the media if you must, mps, but please try and get some work done on the tax payers’ dime!
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I love it because finally TA gets called on his hypocrisy. I don’t believe he’s misogynistic, but he’s shown his sexism time and time again. Julia Gillard knows that Peter Slipper is likely to resign and IMO its a masterful political ploy on her behalf. That’s what’s getting her the kudos from overseas.The LNP attempted to use Peter Slippers vile remarks for political gain and it backfired spectacularly. The PM in no way shape or form supported or condoned those texts. Quite frankly Julia Gillard will be damned if she does or damned if she doesn’t. On Tuesday she got up and said enough is enough and I won’t be taking your crap anymore. I expect that the PM would know all about a smear campaign considering she’s been subjected to some of the vilest and nastiest ones I’ve ever seen in politics.This isn’t about a smear campaign, it’s all about someone finally being called to account for their behaviour.
This is about so much more than Peter Slipper and that’s what’s exciting.
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Imagine if TA had stood up and gone on a tirade at her?!
I’m 51, the same age as she is and I have never carried on the way she did. And in OUR Parliament. It was orchestrated, it was full of baseless accusations that she refuses to repeat without Parliamentry privilege and playing the gender advantage is the very sat straw for me.
Abbott has every right to call her on her nightmare governance. If she wants to play the poor abused little woman then do it somewhere else and not on my tax dollars.
I’ve watched Question Time and, if anything, Abbott is careful to remain gentlemanly. Labor put her there deliberately. They knew the Opposition would have to be on their best behaviour and that the ALP would get away with murder and they have.
I’m a woman. I don’t care if I never see another woman in the Lodge.
As a Nation we and our media are nowhere near mature enough to handle it.
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It wasnt full of baseless accusations at all – each thing she said is recorded either in print or photo as things Abbott has said and done. If you are not a member of parliament, then why would you have ever had the need to deliver that speech? You cant have watched question time very often, Abbott repeatedly called her a liar until recently he was told he couldnt use that word again. He often refers to her as worst PM in history, terrible PM, incompetent etc etc. He has often been told to withdraw his comments that he has called out to her across the table. As for saying nightmare Governance – this minority government has actually managed to deliver a lot of reforms & implement policy changes. Have you checked out how our economy is going compared to others. Your bias against the Government is clear – of course you wouldnt have been impressed by the speech.
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What were the baseless accusations??
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Sorry, but what exactly was ‘baseless’ about her accusations? She used direct quotes made by Abbott, from his time as a minister. I’m not sure how more factual she could have been.
Abbott has been on a public tirade on Gillard ever since she became PM. He has called her a liar publicly every chance possible, which I’m sure anyone with a general understanding of how a hung parliament works would see is the most baseless accusation possible. It was about time she stood up for herself.
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Oh this is that same “Anonymous” from yesterday’s discussion, still sneering about Ms Gillard, still insisting that Abbott was “gentlemanly” conveniently overlooking that Standing Orders requires that only the Member who has the call may speak.
Do you need to be reminded again that the “baseless” accusations came from the Hansard? See, that is the official record PR proceedings in the House chamber.
We get it. You are a Liberal voter. No need to hide behind a pseudonym.
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baseless accusations?! it was full of quotes, backed up by details of when they were said and recorded. quotes that were anything but ‘gentlemanly’ i’m not sure what is baseless about accusing someone of saying something horrible that they were recorded as having said.
it’s funny that men in politics are allowed to say horrible things and make accusations in parliament (they do, often, if you aren’t aware of this, you’ve probably never watched question time before.. it’s a childish argument and most of what your ‘tax’ is funding is TA asking over and over about the carbon tax and refugees (which is achieving what, exactly?!) and as soon as the prime minister stand up and expresses an opinion which is relevant to the current item of discussion and also is critical of a negative, wasteful, gainless culture that has been developing in the parliament, she is ‘going on a tirade’ yep, her opinion is infantilised and devalued, but the sleazy, time wasting, nasty comments and repetitive questions which keep new issues off the board are valued political discourse? If her words could inspire any change in political culture towards a more respectful and focussed culture, i’d say it would be my ‘tax dollars’ well spent
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Calling bullshit on the “gentlemanly”. What on earth does that even mean? “Died of shame” that’s a gentlemanly comment right there. Call it a tirade if you like but to me it was a clear and simple case of Julia telling Tony she wasn’t taking his shit anymore. Like I have already said this about far more than Peter Slipper.
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Literally laughed out loud (as opposed to just LOLed) at the idea of the Opposition being on its best behaviour. You’re hilarious!
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I thought the speech was amazing, very planned out, but amazing and so glad it has been said. I just wish the timing had been better as I agree with Bec that giving this speech with the Slipper issue ended up giving a mixed signal.
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I am so over this whole sordid, sorry episode.
Can we please just replace Julia with Nicola Roxon and Tony with Malcolm Turnbull and get back to running the country? And formulating workable policies and having worthwhile debates? Maybe even establish a positive, clear vision for this country’s future?
Please?
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