Where were you?
I know I’m probably on a loser with this one, but I feel the need for a different perspective to be presented on the sudden outbreak of concern within the Liberal Party about misogyny. I am of course referring to the recent resignation from the Party by Julia Banks, and also comments recently from Julie Bishop after the toppling of Malcom Turnbull, each of whom have complained of the bullying and misogyny within the Liberal Party.
My response to this recent hand wringing is to ask one simple question – where were you when Julia Gillard was getting belted by the Liberal Party and the Murdoch press? Or was it merely considered, ‘just politics’ back then because it was happening to ‘someone else’, but when it happens to you, it’s bullying.
What has prompted the sudden, and it is sudden, outpouring of concern about the conduct of politics within the Liberal Party? What changed between yesterday, and today, because the behaviour itself is no worse than it ever has been? Excuse my cynicism, but, could it be that facing electoral defeat, and the selection of a leader who holds views contrary to their own, people have decided now is the time to find their principles. Not so much going out with a bang, but going out as the righteous one.
Do not take my annoyance at the recent hand wringing as in any way condoning the behaviour of the Liberal Party, but I get annoyed at the hypocrisy currently being displayed, given that the people now calling out the poor behaviour have either benefited from it in the past without showing any concern, Julie Bishop, or had ample opportunity to witness it before joining the party, Julia Banks.
I also become a little annoyed when people who have happily stomped on the less fortunate in our society, through the policies they have implemented, suddenly adopt the language of the down trodden, but that is a discussion for another day.
Am I the only person who fell off their chair when Julie Bishop recently came out and complained about the behaviour of the men in the political party she is a member of? Where was she when Julia Gillard was getting belted by those same men?
Where was Bishop, and her concern for decency and respect, when Tony Abott joined the protesters and stood next to the signs saying ‘Ditch the Bitch’? Where were you Bishop? Why did you not speak out then?
An example of Bishop’s contrived annoyance was her reaction to the offensive nature of the texts sent and received by Peter Slipper, the ex-member of the Liberal Party named as speaker in the last Labour government, texts that were intercepted by a journalist and published without Slipper’s consent. But can anyone recall Bishop expressing similar outrage over the appalling treatment Gillard received by Pickering, and the filthy cartoons of Gillard he was disseminating? No! Neither can I. Bishop not once spoke out about this.
Well, why should she, the first female PM of Australia getting bullied by the thugs of the Liberal Party, that’s politics right. Anne Summers wrote this excellent essay on this particular topic a few years ago that documented the extent to which Gillard was subjected to continuing appalling behaviour from the Liberal Party and conservative commentators. Warning – the language, repeating what was used against Gillard, is sexually explicit and graphic.
Where was Bishop when Gillard was coping it from the Murdoch press. Every day during the Gillard era the Daily Telegraph was filled with what can be simply described as ‘Julia Hate’. Every day there would be an extremely negative article in a prominent position about Julia Gillard: questioning everything about her. Did Bishop just once call out ‘enoughs enough, this bullying must stop’? No!
Had Bishop, at that time, reached across the party divide to Gillard and offered an expression of support for Gillard against the extreme abuse she was suffering, the message would have been so powerful we would be living now with a different set of behaviours. The most powerful and successful women on either side of politics, standing together against thuggery.
If it happened, I don’t recall it. Such a gesture would have been a game changer for women in parliament – but it never happened. Instead, Gillard was left to defend herself, which she did with her memorable ‘mysoginist speech’ aimed at Tony Abott. Anything Bishop says now on the topic is empty, meaningless, and somewhat self-serving.
Why have we only become concerned now about the treatment of women in the Liberal Party, by the bullies in the Liberal Party, and not at all concerned about their treatment of women in the Labor Party, or the crossbenches.
Can anyone remember the comments by Bill Heffernan calling Gillard ‘barren’. Search for Bishop’s denouncement of that contemptible statement – and then send it to me.
Which brings us to Banks, who was elected to Federal Parliament in 2016, giving her ample time to observe the behaviour of the party she was joining. And after observing the behaviour of party members like Abbot, Pyne, Dutton, Morrison she said, ‘yeah, I want to stand with them’, ‘their values are my values’, ‘I like the look of that mob’.
Did Banks not witness or remember the bullying and thuggery of Abbot to the non-government sector during the Howard Government. Banks had witnessed Pyne’s immature antics in parliament and thought, ‘yeah, I want to link arms with this bloke’. In which direction was Banks looking when Morrison was acting like a thug over the off-shore processing & detention of refugees – he changed the laws so it became illegal for anyone to report on what was happening inside the detention centres – but Banks was fine with that – the bullying wasn’t directed at her.
Banks is upset by the backroom politics associated with leadership changes. Really! How do you think Malcom got the job in the first place? It wasn’t handed to him, he had to take it. Had Banks forgotten the machinations behind the repeated swapping of Peacock & Howard, and the infamous phone call involving Jeff Kennett? Why did Banks expect the behaviour to be any different, given the treatment of Abbott & co of anyone who disagreed with them. It was all to be seen before Banks joined the party.
Australia now has a political version of the ‘me-too’ movement, whereas had Julie Bishop taken a different approach back when Labour was in government, we could have had our own ‘not her’ movement, but that may have resulted in Julia Banks being elected into opposition instead of government – the price one pays for power.
