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  • [DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE] The question is that the motion be agreed to. I call the Prime Minister.

  • [JULIA GILLARD] Thank you very much Deputy Speaker

  • and I rise to oppose the motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition, and in so

  • doing I say to the Leader of the Opposition: I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny

  • by this man. I will not. And the government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny

  • by this mannot now, not ever. The Leader of the Opposition says that people who hold

  • sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well, I hope

  • the Leader of the Opposition has got a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation,

  • because if he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia he doesn't need

  • a motion in the House of Representatives; he needs a mirror. That is what he needs.

  • Let's go through the opposition leader's repulsive double standards when it comes to misogyny

  • and sexism. We are now supposed to take seriously that the Leader of the Opposition is offended

  • by Mr Slipper's text messages, when this is the Leader of the Opposition who has said,

  • and this was when he was a minister under the last governmentnot when he was a student,

  • not when he was in high school, (but) when he was a minister under the last government.

  • He has said, and I quote, in a discussion about women being underrepresented in institutions

  • of power in Australia, the interviewer was

  • a man called Stavros, the Leader of the Opposition said: "If it's true, Stavros, that

  • men have more power, generally speaking, than women, is that a bad thing?"

  • And then a discussion ensues and another person being interviewed says, "I want my daughter

  • to have as much opportunity as my son," to which the Leader of the Opposition says: "Yeah,

  • I completely agree, but what if men are, by physiology or temperament, more adapted to

  • exercise authority or to issue command?" Then ensues another discussion about women's role

  • in modern society, and the other person participating in the discussions says, "I think it's very

  • hard to deny that there is an underrepresentation of women," to which the Leader of the Opposition

  • says, "But now, there's an assumption that this is a bad thing." This is the man from whom

  • we are supposed to take lectures about sexism.

  • And then, or course, it goes on. I was very offended personally when the Leader of the Opposition

  • as minister for health said, and I quote, "Abortion is the easy way out." I was very personally offended by those

  • comments. You said that in March 2004. I suggest you check the records. I was also

  • very offended on behalf of the women of Australia when in the course of this carbon pricing campaign

  • the Leader of the Opposition said, "What the housewives of Australia need to understand

  • as they do the ironing ..." Thank you for that painting of women's roles in modern Australia!

  • And then, of course, I was offended too by the sexism, by the misogyny, of the Leader of the Opposition

  • catcalling across this table at me as I sit here as Prime Minister, "if the Prime Minister

  • wants to, politically speaking, make an honest woman of herself ..." — something that would never

  • have been said to any man sitting in this chair.

  • I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition went outside in the front of parliament and

  • stood next to a sign that said 'Ditch the witch'. I was offended when the Leader of

  • the Opposition stood next to a sign that described me as a man's bitch. I was offended by those

  • things. Misogyny, sexism, every day from this Leader of the Opposition. Every

  • day, in every way, across the time the Leader of the Opposition has sat in that chair and

  • I have sat in this chair, that is all we have heard from him.

  • And now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be taken seriously. Apparently he's woken up,

  • after this track record and all of these statements, he's woken up and he's gone, "Oh dear,

  • there's this thing called sexism; oh my lord, there's this thing called misogyny. Now who's one

  • of them? Oh, the Speaker must be because that suits my political purpose" (He) doesn't turn

  • a hair about any of his past statements, doesn't walk into this parliament and apologise

  • to the women of Australia, doesn't walk into this parliament and apologise to me for the

  • things that have come out of his mouthbut (he) now seeks to use this as a battering ram

  • against someone else. Well this kind of hypocrisy should not be tolerated, which is why this

  • motion from the Leader of the Opposition should not be taken seriously.

  • And then second, the Leader of the Opposition is always wonderful about walking into this parliament

  • and giving me and others a lecture about what they should take responsibility for;

  • always wonderful about that - everything that I should take responsibility for, now apparently including

  • the text messages of the member for Fisher. Always keen to say others should assume

  • responsibility, particularly me. Well can anybody remind me if the Leader of the Opposition

  • has taken any responsibility for the conduct of the Sydney Young Liberals and the attendance

  • at this event of members of his frontbench? Has he taken any responsibility for the conduct

  • of members of his political party and members of his frontbench, who apparently when the

  • most vile things were being said about my family raised no voice of objection.

  • (Government members interjecting) [DEPUTY SPEAKER] Order!

  • [GILLARD]: No-one walked out of the room, no-one walked up to Mr Jones and said that

  • this was not acceptable. Instead, of course, it was all viewed as good fununtil it was run in a

  • Sunday newspaper, and then the Leader of the Opposition and others started ducking for cover.

  • (He is) big on lectures of responsibility, very light on accepting responsibility himself

  • for the vile conduct of members of his political party.

  • Third, Ms Deputy Speaker, why the Leader of the Opposition should not be taken seriously

  • on this motion. The Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition have

  • come into this place and have talked about the member for Fisher. Well let me remind the opposition,

  • and the Leader of the Opposition particularly, about their track record and association with

  • the member for Fisher. I remind them that the National Party preselected the member

  • for Fisher for the 1984 election, that the National Party preselected the member for

  • Fisher for the 1987 election, that the Liberal Party preselected the member for Fisher

  • for the 1993 election, then for the 1996 election, then for the 1998 election, then for the 2001

  • election, then for the 2004 election, then for the 2007 election and then for the 2010 election.

  • And across many of those preselections Mr Slipper enjoyed the personal support of

  • the Leader of the Opposition. I remind the Leader of the Opposition that on 28 September 2010,

  • following the last election campaign when Mr Slipper was elected as Deputy Speaker,

  • the Leader of the Opposition at that stage said this, and I quote; he referred to the member for Maranoa,

  • who was also elected to a position at the same time, and then went on as follows:

  • '... and the member for Fisher will serve as a fine complement

  • to the member for Scullin in the chair. I believe that the parliament will be well served

  • by the team which will occupy the chair in this chamber … I congratulate the member

  • for Fisher, who has been a friend of mine for a very long time, who has served this parliament

  • in many capacities with distinction …' The words of the Leader of the Opposition

  • on record about his personal friendship with Mr Slipper and on record about his view about

  • Mr Slipper's qualities and attributes to be the Speaker. (There is) no walking away from

  • those wordsthey were the statements of the Leader of the Opposition then.

  • I remind the Leader of the Opposition, who now comes in here and speaks about Mr Slipper

  • and apparently his inability to work with or talk to Mr Slipper,

  • I remind the Leader of the Opposition, he attended Mr Slipper's wedding.

  • Did he walk up to Mr Slipper in the middle of the service and say he was

  • disgusted to be there? Was that the attitude he took? No, he attended that wedding as a

  • friend. The Leader of the Opposition, keen to lecture others about what they ought to

  • know or did know about Mr Slipper but, with respect, I would say to the Leader of the Opposition

  • after a long personal association, including attending Mr Slipper's wedding,

  • it would be interesting to know whether the Leader of the Opposition was surprised by

  • these text messages. He is certainly in a position to speak more intimately about

  • Mr Slipper than I am and many other people in this parliament, given this long personal association.

  • Then, of course, the Leader of the Opposition comes into this place and says, and I quote:

  • "Every day the Prime Minister stands in this parliament to defend this Speaker will

  • be another day of shame for this parliament; another day of shame for a government which

  • should already have died of shame."

  • Well, can I indicate to the Leader of the Opposition,

  • the government is not dying of shame, my father did not die of shame. What the Leader

  • of the Opposition should be ashamed of is his performance in this parliament and the

  • sexism he brings with it.

  • Now, about the text messages that are on the public record, (Opposition members interjecting)

  • [JENNY MACKLIN]: You used those words. It is a quote.

  • [GILLARD] That is a direct quote from the Leader of the Opposition, so I suggest

  • those groaning have a word with him.

  • On the conduct of Mr Slipper and on the text messages which are in the public domain—I

  • have seen the press reports of those text messages, I am offended by their content.

  • I am offended by their content because I am always offended by sexism. I am offended by

  • their content because I am always offended by statements that are anti-women. I am offended

  • by those things in the same way I have been offended by things that the Leader of the Opposition

  • has said, and no doubt will continue to say in the future, because if this, today, was

  • an exhibition of his new feminine side, well I don't think we have much to look forward

  • to in terms of changed conduct.

  • I am offended by those text messages but I also believe that, in terms of this parliament,

  • making a decision about the speakership, that his parliament should recognise

  • that there is court case in progress, that

  • the judge has reserved his decision, that having waited for a number of months for the legal

  • matters surrounding Mr Slipper to come to a conclusion, that this parliament should see that

  • conclusion. I believe that is the appropriate path forward and that people will then have

  • an opportunity to make up their minds with the fullest information available to them.

  • But, whenever people make up their minds about those questions, what I won't stand for, what

  • I will never stand for, is the Leader of the Opposition coming into this place and

  • peddling a double standard; peddling a standard for Mr Slipper

  • he would not set for himself, peddling a standard for Mr Slipper he has not set for

  • other members of his frontbench; peddling a standard for Mr Slipper that has not been

  • acquitted by the people who have been sent out to say the vilest and most revolting things,

  • like his former shadow parliamentary secretary, Senator Bernardi.

  • I will not ever see the Leader of the Opposition seek to impose his double standard on this parliament.

  • Sexism should always be unacceptable. We should conduct ourselves as it should be

  • always unacceptable. The Leader of the Opposition says, 'Do something.'

  • Well he could do something himself if he wants to deal with sexism in this parliament. He

  • could change his behaviour, he could apologise for all his past statements, he could apologise

  • for standing next to signs describing me as a witch and a bitchterminology that is now objected

  • to by the frontbench of the opposition. He could change a standard himself if he sought

  • to do so. But we will see none of that from the Leader of the Opposition, because on these

  • questions he is incapable of change. (He is) capable of double standards but incapable

  • of change. His double standards should not rule this parliament.

  • Good sense, common sense, proper process is what should rule this parliament.

  • That's what I believe is the path forward for this parliament, not the kind of double standards

  • and political game-playing imposed by the Leader of the Opposition, (who is) now looking

  • at his watch because, apparently, a woman's spoken too long—I've had him

  • yell at me to shut up in the past.

  • But I will take the remaining seconds of my speaking time to say to the Leader of the Opposition

  • I think the best course for him is to reflect on the standards he has

  • exhibited in public life, on the responsibility he should take for his public statements,

  • on his close personal connection with Peter Slipper, on the hypocrisy he has displayed

  • in this House today. And on that basis, because of the Leader of the Opposition's motivations,

  • this parliament today should reject this motion, and the Leader of the Opposition should think

  • seriously about the role of women in public life and in Australian societybecause we

  • are entitled to a better standard than this.

  • [GOVERNMENT MEMBERS] Hear hear!

[DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE] The question is that the motion be agreed to. I call the Prime Minister.

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