Grace Tame reveals details of what was said in ‘Morrison threat’

Note: this article contains descriptions of sexual abuse.

How important is it not to embarrass Prime Minister Scott Morrison? Important enough to threaten withholding support for a foundation that works to prevent the sexual abuse of children, allegedly. 

Yesterday at the Adelaide Writers’ Week, former Australian of the Year Grace Tame revealed further details of an alleged intimidating phone call she received from a senior member of an organisation funded by the government on the eve of the 2022 Australian of the Year awards. 

Tame told a packed-out audience in Adelaide, “I didn’t share this at the National Press Club but do you know what the threat was, from that person who phoned me? It was that they wouldn’t support the [Grace Tame] foundation if I said something about the prime minister.”

The Grace Tame Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation set up by Tame to campaign for and help fund initiatives to prevent and respond to sexual abuse of children and others. That this threat was delivered to Tame shows that for the PM and his cronies, politics truly does come before all else.

The former Australian of the Year appeared on an Adelaide Writers’ Week panel titled “The Reckoning”, alongside author Jess Hill who wrote the Quarterly Essay of the same name. The panel was chaired by Jo Dyer — director of the Adelaide Writers’ Week, independent candidate for the South Australia federal electorate Boothby and a close friend of Kate, the woman who accused former attorney-general Christian Porter of historic rape in 2021 (allegations Porter denies). 

Tame spent much of the panel speaking about the need for better education about the language surrounding child sexual assault. She told the panel of how being ill-equipped with the necessary vocabulary to describe child sexual assault, as well as restrictions on victims’ speech after the abuse, contributes to what she calls an “ecosystem of abuse”.

“If you are stabbed, for instance, you can say, ‘I was stabbed. This is what happened. These were the circumstances.’ And then we also have the skill set to then ask for help — the appropriate help — but that’s certainly not what I had.”

Advocating for better education around the language of abuse and the tactics of abusers is a big part of what the Grace Tame Foundation is set up to do. Yet the intimidating caller was, allegedly, all too happy to withdraw any support for this work over any words or actions that made Scott Morrison look bad. 

When pressed on her experiences in dealing with the current government, Tame asserted that she was apolitical and wanted to work with people on all sides for change “because the abuse of children transcends politics”.

But in trying to work with the current government, she found a “certain person” to be unauthentic.

“Certain people are more concerned with maintaining power and control than running the country,” she said, to groans from the crowd. 

Tame went on to open up about how she confronted the paedophile who raped her four days before reporting his actions to police. She was 15 at the time, a student at St Michael’s Collegiate School in Hobart, when she was repeatedly abused by a teacher who had a known history of paedophilia. 

“I told him I thought he was a monster. I told him I thought … he was pure evil and that I hoped he died, and I pointed to a picture of his own children, who were twice my age at the time, and I told him I hated him for what he had done to me,” she said.

“My fear of upsetting the applecart died that day — and it sure as hell died standing next to Scott Morrison.”

Tame received a lot of criticism from all the usual dank corners of the internet and print for giving Morrison the side-eye during a photo op earlier this year. But in Adelaide, she issued a rallying cry to all to follow her example and not to let fear of upsetting the status quo stay your hand in speaking out about wrongdoing. 

“You don’t have to participate in this … mindless abuse culture just for the sake of civility. Rudeness is subjective, but hypocrisy is self-defeating.”

Survivors of abuse can find support by calling Bravehearts at 1800 272 831. The Kids Helpline is 1800 55 1800. In an emergency, call 000. 

If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault or violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

For anyone seeking help, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue is on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.