Aid for Abetz The brewing storm around allegations that Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz said Brittany Higgins was “so disgustingly drunk” on the night she was allegedly raped in Parliament that “[she] would sleep with anybody” should reveal a few things. (Abetz denies he made the comments.)
First, it provides extra evidence that despite his rhetoric, Prime Minster Scott Morrison’s kneejerk response to these situations is to side with the bloke (although in Abetz’s case it did land as a little equivocal, with Morrison simply stressing that Abetz denies the claims and “will continue to serve in the roles that he now serves within the Senate”).
It will also reveal the balance of power in Tasmania Liberals. The allegations were made under parliamentary privilege by Tasmanian state Liberal-turned-independent Sue Hickey, a match tossed over her shoulder two days after the party told her she wasn’t going to be endorsed in the next election.
Given it was Liberal Premier Peter Gutwein who had personally told Hickey she was out, what happened next came as a surprise. Gutwein, apparently concluding his enemy’s enemy was now his friend, publicly backed Hickey, and wrote to Morrison asking him to “consider” the allegations.
Abetz’s Christian right faction has long been the dominant force in Tassie conservative politics. But is he more powerful than the state’s premier? Gutwein, who is now dealing with minority government, is about to find out.
Teflon treasurer With Morrison flailing to the point he may have even put News Corp offside, keep an eye out for more coverage of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg — famously assiduous about his media profile — like the weekend piece in the Nine papers, describing him as “now the undisputed heir to the Liberal Party leadership”, and a Monday CDB item describing his “Teflon-like abilities to sail unscathed through a hazardous political environment”.
Meanwhile, given this really would be a capital time for the opposition to put forward a woman as leader, we’ll continue our watching brief on Tanya Plibersek’s appearances in the conservative media.
Has anybody seen the minister for women? It’s a point we’ve made before and it’s a point we’ll keep making: what is the point of having a minister for women if the specific events of 2021 have not elicited a single media statement from her office?
The allegations of rape in Parliament, staffers masturbating on female politicians’ desks, and a major rally dedicated to eradicating harassment and assault against women have assailed Parliament in recent weeks. In that time, Minister for Women Marise Payne opposed an independent inquiry into the historical rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter (allegations Porter denies), defended the pause of investigation into the handling of Higgins’ rape allegations, and declined to attend the March4Justice.
She and Senator Anne Ruston also launched the third phase of the government’s “Stop It At The Start” campaign targeting domestic violence, an ad series encouraging people to speak out against the disrespect of women: “If you see disrespect, unmute yourself.”
Indeed.
Maybe it’s only me. But as each new allegation is made against any member of an LNP government, federally or in any state or territory, I become more, rather than less, inclined to believe the speaker, and less likely to believe the accused, no matter how strenuous their denials.
Who leaked the ‘Wilkie’ document to Andrew Bolt?
I am still amazed that Linda Reynolds is being moved to another portfolio despite her incompetent handling of the Higgins matter . But we must have more women in cabinet – to keep female representation up. So the incompetent females must equal the incompetent males.
Don’t worry. There’s plenty of cleaners in Parliament House.
They don’t have very good material to choose from. Too many incompetents in this Government
Teflon treasurer? Who in the government is not Teflon coated? Crikey has been reporting for years on all the incompetence, greed, rorting and other scandals endemic in government, but nothing happens – except the mechanisms for accountability get further eroded or dismantled. Teflon is a threadbare old cliché of an adjective and quite meaningless in a culture where almost nobody at the top is accountable for anything.
Erica Betz’s obscene comments reported in the Tassie Parlt re Brittany Higgins and Porter comes as no surprise – as did his ruse last year of “race – baiting Macarthyism” in a Senate enquiry, his opposition to woodchipping in Tasmania and claim it was “treason”, his claim that the black lives matter movement is “toxic”, that there is a link between “abortions and breast cancer”, that no tax on food would be “immoral” or the the rezoning of property Erica purchased in Hobart – which he then resold after a govt rezoning at a huge profit – was not a corrupt transaction.
Oops should read “…anti woodchipping …is treason…”