So Tony Abbott has suddenly decided that he is a feminist! Really! And he is shocked – shocked! – that the Labor Government can countenance as Speaker a man who sent sexist and unpleasant text messages.
Now, if this was the first time I’d ever heard Tony Abbott open his mouth, I would be mildly pleased to hear this. And it is certainly both interesting and pleasing to note that the head of our more right-wing major party feels the need to portray himself as a feminist if he’s going to get the votes out.
The trouble is, of course, that our dear Opposition Leader’s own statements have not been without their sexist moments. Or hours. Which are all duly recorded in Hansard, incidentally. And this does make his statements about Peter Slipper – who was, until recently, a member of his own party – just a tad hypocritical.
But that wasn’t enough. Oh, no. A mere week after the whole blow-up about Alan Jones claiming that Gillard’s father died of shame because of his daughter’s lies (yep, we have radio personalities with no sense of decency in Australia, too), Abbott commented that the entire Labor Government should already have died of shame because of Slipper’s actions.
Oh, no you don’t… Continue reading
