Quote of the day:
“Are you suggesting to me that when it comes from Julia, ‘no’ doesn’t mean ‘no’ … When she said ‘no’, I thought she meant ‘no’ … I believed her … You can’t change the rules just because you are in trouble.” — Tony Abbott, asked whether he would take up Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s challenge to take part in another debate, ridiculed the invitation, but his snappy soundbite got him in trouble yesterday, given the phrase has become linked with several high-profile court cases concerning the issue of rape and a women’s right to not have s-x.
Abbott rejected the accusation in a radio interview yesterday afternoon — ‘‘I’m the father of three daughters,’’ he said on 4BC radio. ‘‘No-one respects women more than I do.’’
No-one respects women more than I do-no-one else tony?
A woman should be able to make choices and not be judged on those choices.If a woman decides that she cannot have a career and children then so be it and vice a versa.She shouldn’t be judged.
Mr Abbott and the liberal party’s judgement of Julia Gillard’s life choice runs counter to Mr Abott’s above statement.
I am afraid Mr Abbott puts certain women on a pedestal.
The problem is Tony Abbott’s cultural background. In the 1970s he was a student at the rugger loving heavy drinking St John’s College, University of Sydney, where students were not known for their embrace of women’s rights.
He can hardly claim not to understand the implications of saying “no doesn’t mean no” as the nature of sexual consent was a central issue in student life when he was first involved in student politics.
I don’t think that being a father of daughters necessarily implies respect. Josef Fritzl was the father of daughters. Proof of his respect for women must surely be earned, and sadly he has not shown respect in a number of public comments he has made.