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Scott Morrison’s #themtoo moment

Scott Morrison’s reaction to the Kate Jenkins’ review was to make it very clear that it wasn’t just his side that behaved deplorably towards women.  Whilst no doubt true, it’s a pitiful comeback which invites a response.

Remember in 2011 when Tony Abbott attended an anti-carbon tax rally where he spoke in front of placards that read “JuLIAR, Bob Brown’s Bitch” and “Ditch the witch”?  After a speech that was punctuated by chants of “ditch the bitch” and “liar, liar”, Abbott said the crowd was “a representative snapshot of middle Australia”.  He said people are “more than entitled” to protest against a Government and a Prime Minister “which has not been straight with them… let’s not get too precious about these things”.

That’s the same man who, as Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, told an Industrial relations conference that bad bosses, like bad fathers and husbands, should be tolerated because they generally do more good than harm.  The same man who, when asked to describe the attributes of a female candidate, said she had sex appeal.

Remember the 2013 Mal Brough fundraiser, attended by Joe Hockey?  The menu featured a dish called “Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail – Small Breasts, Huge Thighs & A Big Red Box.”  That didn’t stop him from contesting and winning his seat – he only stood down when a police investigation into the James Ashby imbroglio was launched.

Around the same time, a public servant accused Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, Jamie Briggs, of inappropriate behaviour on a boozy late night out in Hong Kong.  Brigg’s response was to send “a few people” a photo of the complainant which was then published prominently in weekend newspapers as well as private text messages sent by her, her age and job title.

This did not cost Briggs his preselection for the 2016 election.  The voters of Mayo had to turf him out.

Peter Dutton’s response to an article criticising Briggs was to send a supportive text to him calling the female journalist a “mad fucking witch” – except in another glaring example of Dutton incompetency, he sent it to the “mad fuckling witch” by mistake.

Dutton has form with this sort of puerile sexist behaviour.  In 2010, he defended telling then health minister, Nicola Roxon, to get on her broomstick.

When it was revealed that that champion for the sanctity of marriage, that dedicated dad that just wanted his daughters to marry a bloke (not sheila), our on again off again Deputy Dawg, the Beetrooter aka the red octopus, had allegedly impregnated a staffer with whom he had been having an ongoing affair, his response was to question the child’s paternity.

Barnaby told Fairfax Media, as you do, that he had “no choice” but to tell the story about the question mark that hung over whether he is the biological father because, around the time the baby was conceived, he had been on an overseas work trip with his wife Natalie followed by a period as acting prime minister during which he was apparently “accompanied by close personal protection bodyguards”.

I cannot type what I would have said to Joyce had I been either of the women he so cruelly and cavalierly disrespected with this completely self-centred abomination, but I did enjoy reading that Natalie threw all his clothes outside and ran over them with the ride-on mower.

This situation led to the extraordinary bonk ban where the PM felt it necessary to make it a rule that MPs stop rooting their staff.

Still Barnaby hung on until details of a confidential sexual harassment complaint against him by a prominent Nationals woman were, once again, leaked to the press without her consent.

Andrew Broad was the first Nationals MP to break ranks and condemn Joyce for his affair with a staffer, only to have to humiliatingly step down after it was revealed he, once again on a work trip to Hong Kong, went out with a woman he had met on a “sugar babies” website where wealthy older men meet women and provide them with gifts in exchange for company.

The WhatsApp messages were excruciating.

“I pull you close, run my strong hands down your back, softly kiss your neck and whisper G’day mate.”

“I’m a country guy, so I know how to fly a plane, ride a horse, fuck my woman. My intentions are completely dishonourable.”

Broad said he could have survived another campaign, despite the scandal, buffeted by the 21% margin in his Victorian seat of Mallee, but he didn’t want to become a “half laughing-stock” figure like Barnaby Joyce.

That most religious of men, George Christensen’s preferred destination was the girly bars in Angeles City near Manila.  So much so that he became a potential threat to national security.

When Four Corners aired an episode titled “Inside the Canberra Bubble”, detailing allegations of inappropriate conduct and extramarital affairs by Attorney-General Christian Porter and Population Minister Alan Tudge with female ministerial staffers, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher was quick to express his outrage to Ita Buttrose.

“Why, in the judgement of the Board, are the personal lives of politicians newsworthy?” spluttered Fletcher as he publicly tweeted the letter he sent trying to intimdate the ABC Chair.  After all, this was before Malcolm told them that having sex with their staff was a no-no.

Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour tweeted ahead of the episode’s airing that the “political pressure applied to the ABC behind the scenes over this story has been extreme and unrelenting”.

The staffer who had an affair with Tudge has recently claimed it was an emotionally, and on one occasion physically, abusive relationship – a claim Tudge denied as he stood aside whilst the complaint is investigated.

Also emerging in recent days, claims by Natalie Baini, the former Liberal who will run as an independent in the Sydney seat of Reid, that her political ambitions were thwarted after she complained about Craig Laundy allegedly lying to her about his marital status before she entered into a consensual relationship with him.

The bullying and intimidation of Liberal women during the leadership spill in 2018 was well documented yet no-one seemed to bear any consequences for it.

Linda Reynolds said in the Senate, before her silence was bought with a promotion, “In fact, some of the behaviour is behaviour I simply do not recognise and I think has no place in my party or this chamber.  I cannot condone and I cannot support what has happened to some of my colleagues on this side, in this chamber, in this place”.

I won’t even start on Liberal party staffers masturbating on desks or prayer room orgies or allegations of grooming or drunken late night sexual assaults and the responses to them.

When women across the nation joined together in an outpouring of grief and anger to demand change, Scott Morrison refused to come out and face the March 4 Justice crowds, instead saying from the floor of parliament that it was a triumph of democracy that protesters were not “met with bullets”.

This is not the time to point at someone else saying they do it too.  It shouldn’t be necessary to form another committee to work out what to do either.  It’s easy.

Just stop it!

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12 comments

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  1. Phil Pryor

    Try to talk to a pig like Morrison and all you get back will be grunts, droppings, sty noises, stinks, bluntness of a pig like nature. The Boss pig heads a sty of stinkers, pigginess in heaps, piles, lumps, and no sense will emerge from a B Joyce, the rooting, rorting, raving, schoonerous scum and scoundrel from the “mythical bush”. It is too hard to go through the list of truculent turds, pungent pig turds. They need to be eliminated on the way to huge correction in conservative society’s filth and depravity, the Norm, the Standard, the Life.

  2. pierre wilkinson

    oh it is perfectly okay because they do it too is not, nor ever should be, an acceptable excuse for all the abhorrent behaviour demonstrated by our supposed representatives and their leaders…
    the fact that the serial philanderer and apparent alcoholic is once again our deputy PM speaks volumes for the complete lack of accountability in our current parliament…
    and the damning report of bullying, sexual assault and demeaning activiities, coupled with the ongoing misogyny rife in politics and general society call for a national apology and immediate action to curtail the despicable acceptance of this conduct

  3. New England Cocky

    In New England the reports of adultery by Beetrooter were met with just yawns from male Nazional$ supporters and ”None of our business” or ”Good on yer” comments while the women, well trained in silent compliance to Nazional$ misogyny remained silent and accepted that 19th century social customs were still relevant in a 21st century world.

    Perhaps the political catch-cry “Women supporting adultery support Nazional$” may be more relevant now that Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins and the late Katharine Thornton have exposed the sexual antics of politicians in Parliament House. Certainly Katharine Thornton has saved Australia from having alleged rapist Christian Porter as a future Prim Monster.

  4. RosemaryJ36

    Id only the ALP could persuade those who are disillusioned with politicians that they are a better option . . . . .!!!

  5. Kaye Lee

    Rosemary,

    In my head I give the campaign launch speech I’d like to hear……the theme is Restoring Respect. It would be a long speech.

  6. Kerri

    There’s a simple answer to the man whi claims he is separated or separating, get his wife’s phone number so you can check with her before you commit!

  7. ajogrady

    Once you strip away the blatant ingrained insidious and treasonous corruption, the obvious and absolutely consistent poor judgement, the culpable and dangerous incompetence, the continual deception and the constant distortion, the endless creations of laws and opportunities to suppress and stifle contrary debate, the flagrant sneaky and self serving promotion of religious faith at the expense of political integrity, the erroneous attempts to hamper voting, the anger and disgust generated by cutting and running leaving our Afghani comrades in arms to their fate, the crippling of living standards, the devious and unfettered betrayal of Australias sovereignty, the culpable treachery in the ruination of good international trade and international relations, the trashing of Australias good international reputation, the shambolic and totally inept governance standards, the deceitful marketing spin and hypocritical sloganeering plus being a constant and continuous impediment to Australia and Australians reaching their true potential what does the L/NP actually stand for? What is left? What is left is a snide, sneering, sniping, selfish, smug and contemptuous ideology that nurtures, coddles and promotes corrupt to the core thugs, swindlers, chiselers, fraudsters, shysters, cheats and con artists, solicitors of anonymous brown paper bag donations, pathetic debauched degenerates and perverted misogynistic misfits, pseudo Christian cult wack jobs, fanatical religious lunatics, QAnon advocates, cowardly saber rattling war mongering hawks, sadistic and selfish economic vandals, problamatic climate skeptic fundamentalists, environmental saboteurs and desecrators, first nations people apathetic Judases, handicappers to the handicapped, oppressors of the needy and the disadvantaged, enablers of the obscenely wealthy parasitic profiteers, drunken lecherous fornicators and provocateurs plus egotistical born to rule privilaged sociopaths and psychopaths that are devoid of standards, principles, values, morals, ethics, honesty, and basic empathy always rorting, stealing, fiddling, fudging, obfuscating and basically out and out blatant lying while being protected by a maliciously biased, pathetic sycophantic and delusional media.
    Influenced by professional predatory lobbyists whores and directed by crooked callous conservative think tanks whose shadowy underbelly of criminality makes Ned Kelly look like a gentleman. The L/NP not only do not represent most Australians but do not respect them.
    The L/NP have managed to create a massive trust deficit not only domestically but internationally that has left Australias once good reputation in tatters and Australia is now bordering on pariah state status. “Private and confidential” is a misnomer to the L/NP. Diplomacy, critical thinking and cause and effect are foreign concepts to the L/NP. These failings will have or result in dire consequences and outcomes for Australia and Australians. In particular the L/NP believe that success is the ability to go from one total failure to another total failure with no loss of enthusiasm or any sign of a guilty conscience or any shame.The L/NP not only rewards lethargic sneaks, cheats and sly back stabbers but consider mediocrity as their gold standard.
    The L/NP are an insult to equitable governance standards and egalitarian rule. The L/NP are not fit to hold any form of public office in a functioning, vibrant nation that is a cohesive humane society. Australia was built on the egalitarian theme of “a fair go” for all where “the greater good” is paramount to its fundamental beliefs. These values created strong and proud foundations that builds better futures for the many not just the few. These strong ethical values are an anomaly and an aberration to the L/NP.
    Enough is enough.
    Australians dont need “can do” capitalism they need a “can do” government.
    Another 3 years of the insanity turmoil and malfeasance that masquerades as governance by the L/NP will see Australia become barely recognisable as the once great egalitarian nation it once was.
    Australians have got to stop voting against there own best interests or they will forever be remembered as the people from the land of boiling frogs.
    Lest we forget.

  8. Jack sprat

    Like a schoolboy caught doing the wrong thing , Scummo uses a mischievous child’s defense of” but Johnny was doing it too”. The last resort of the guilty is to use blame transfer and accuse others of doing the same thing .In Scummo’s illogical and twisted mind ,he is able to make two wrongs make a right .But what is much worst is that a large proportion of Australian voters wil accept this type of logic .

  9. Andrew J. Smith

    Jack Sprat, agree and it is part of the authoritarian libertarian conservative rhetoric or verbal gambits in the political PR playbook; it was popular with the Soviets, still is with Putin, Erdogan, Orban etc. and known as ‘whataboutery’.

    ‘Whataboutery’ is used by those conservatives backing beliefs/self importance, but lacking strong arguments or grounds to defend their own sub-optimal, unethical or immoral actions, turning it into a binary that can then become a negative slogan; popular in school yards, too many middle aged reactionaries and media in Oz….

  10. Kate Ahearne

    Thanks for the reminder, Kaye.

    So many instances of appalling behaviour! As you say, ‘Just stop it!’

  11. Henry Rodrigues

    The voters of Australia, if they accept this sort of behaviour as normal are just as worthy of condemnation as the creeps they vote for.

    As for the females who still support them, as in New England, hang your heads in shame. you’re no better than the worst dregs of society.

  12. wam

    The rabbott’s expressed his wish that women should try to keep the precious gift of virginity for marriage in jan 2010. Not bad from a man who sought to ride bareback any female he could.(The price of a hymen versus the word of a man? The man’s virginity was sold for US$ 3,000. The girl’s virginity fetched $780,000 —260 times the selling price of the man’s.17 Nov 2012) In Australian and Western church cultures the boy is EXPECTED to sow oats and women are expected to, as Ms Thorpe noted, keep their legs together. The church concedes god gave us the ability for sexual enjoyment so be strong but we will use shotgun marriages.(wade vs roe look to be overturned??)
    this is not easily changed????
    ps great thought kaye make a video,. I would be delighted to hear you.

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