So he finally resigned – but only as Speaker. He should have resigned ages ago, and he should have resigned from Parliament altogether. This whole disgusting affair is not only a commentary on Slipper himself, but on a very sick and degenerate Labor Party which needs to be put out of its misery.
It really is an absolute disgrace. There is no other way to describe this entire sordid business. What a pathetic and immoral bunch of leaders we have. The things Peter Slipper texted would raise the hair on anyone’s neck, yet Julia and all her female colleagues defended this sexist miscreant to the hilt today.
In a staggering display of ugly politics and a moral meltdown, our Prime Minister and her mates voted to keep this sicko on the job. Incredibly Julia lectures Abbott on misogyny, yet her and her Labor gang all vote to defend the pervert Slipper. Indeed, she had the gall to say this about Abbott: “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, I will not. Not now, not ever.”
We know what Slipper said, and it ain’t pretty. It is vile and disgusting, and I can’t repeat most of it here. I can only obliquely get at what he was saying, as we find in the press today. Here is how one article begins: “‘Lucy is very available and keen! Could turn you from your wayward ways,’ Peter Slipper texted to adviser James Ashby on September 3. It was just one of hundreds of text messages the Speaker sent about sexual matters.
“In a document before the Federal Court, Mr Ashby says that, with hindsight, ‘he understood the reference to “wayward ways” to be reference to his homosexuality but at the time was unsure as to what it meant.’ It wasn’t just sex between men that occupied Mr Slipper’s many texting moments.
“Their chief political interest was former Liberal minister Mal Brough, who wanted to take the seat of Fisher from Mr Slipper. ‘Brough is a c..t,’ Mr Slipper said in a text on October 10 last year. Soon after, he said: ‘Funny how we say that a person is a c..t when many guys like c..ts.’
“About five minutes later Mr Slipper began what the Opposition has called ‘vile anatomical references’. Referring to women’s private parts, he said: ‘They look like mussell (sic) removed from its shell. Look at a bottle of mussel meat. Salty C..ts in brine.’ That day Mr Ashby attempted to get the SMS conversation back to politics, but Mr Slipper persisted. ‘Been to thw (sic) fish shop yet to buy the bottle of shell less Mussells (sic)?’”
And it goes on and on like this. Yet Julia thought he was worth defending – the same Julia who lectures Tony and the Libs on misogyny. What a low life hypocrite she is. What a despicable fraud she is. She and 22 Labor women all voted to keep this chump on the job. What a deplorable case of double standards we find here.
Just hours after they voted to keep the guy in, Slipper offered his resignation: “Speaker Peter Slipper has resigned his post, telling the parliament tonight that he was standing down. Mr Slipper will sit on the cross bench as an independent. During an emotional speech Mr Slipper said he thanked the parliament for his support during his tenure as the 27th speaker and said he was resigning with great sadness. I hold no rancour, Mr Slipper said.
“Mr Slipper said when he arrived as Speaker he wanted to improve parliamentary practise and behaviour. ‘I regret recent proceedings have prevented me from pursing these reforms and I believe so strongly in the importance of this house… that is far more important than my own future,’ he said.”
Yeah right – we can see the tears and hear the violins playing all over about his deep regrets. The article continues: “Mr Slipper had earlier survived a motion to remove him from office — moved by Mr Abbott — was defeated by 70 votes to 69 with the government supported by independent MPs Craig Thomson, Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Greens MP Adam Bandt. Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie voted with the Coalition.”
Andrew Bolt offers this commentary on where that leaves us: “A new Speaker to be chosen tonight. If Mr Slipper is replaced directly by Ms Burke then the Labor Government will go back to having a majority of one on the floor of Parliament, depending once again on Labor turned independent MP, Craig Thomson. Mr Slipper resigned from the LNP when he defected to take the job of Speaker and will remain as an Independent MP.
“Assume Anna Burke is Speaker. The numbers then are 74 votes for Labor (71 Labor MP’s, Bandt, Windsor and Oakeshott), with 2 floating vote (Wilkie and Slipper) and 73 votes in opposition , (71 Coalition MP’s). That’s 74-73-2 … with Burke resolving any tied vote. Slipper is likely to stick with the Government on critical votes, to avoid voting for the election that will end his career. Wilkie’s future is much safer, and he is more likely to cause the Government trouble.”
However things pan out, we can say this much with confidence: Labor really is a bunch of sad, sick, sordid and shallow sleazeballs. They have lost all legitimacy, and the only honourable thing for Julia to do is call for an election now.
What is the point in appealing to the “honourable thing”? Why would she do that?
Tas Walker
Clearly something is wrong
Clearly “Politicians are NOT all the same”
Why else has it been necessary for so many years to have “honourable” included in their titles – to remind them of their obligation to the Australian people to behave in all their dealings with the utmost integrity.
Phil Brabin
The sooner we can get rid of this current government the better.
Ian Nairn
Thanks guys
Another piece on this:
“Julia Gillard could immediately have taken the high ground, condemned Slipper’s vulgar behaviour and demanded he resign. That didn’t happen. It was left to Slipper to do one right thing by the office of Speaker. He resigned. And the Prime Minister is left looking like a goose. She will now struggle to be taken seriously about the very serious issue of misogyny. Double standards don’t get much worse than this….”
On whom do our “honourable” politicians depend for their honour?
“My salvation and my honour depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge.” Psalm 62:7
I have always applied this to myself when people may be slurring my reputation. I remind myself it doesn’t matter what people think, it is what God thinks and he will ensure that I have the reputation I deserve. However, I also see that if we depend on God, our reputation and honour in his eyes will follow. If we do not depend on God it follows we may not have much honour.
We desperately need Godly men and women leading and representing us.
Richard Jardine
Bravo! Election now!!
Damien Spillane
As I long term member of the Labor Party and Labor voter I saw the writing on the wall and when the Party voted for a platform to change the Marriage act and I immediately handed in my letter of resignation from the People’s Party gone rouge and crossing the line of immorality
They lost all semblance of what the Labor Party originally stood for. It became totally out of touch with it’s grass roots members just for a mess of pottage (a minority gay votes, less than 1% of the Voters) just because it seemed popular to as one said the Howler Monkeys shrieking long and loud, and what for? Peanuts.
Leigh Stebbins
The word ‘shame’ is often used in Parliamentary debate. For the Prime Minister to respond is such a spiteful way was totally unacceptable. How could any woman support a Speaker of the House who uses such vile language about their own gender let alone a PM.
It is obvious that the PM did not listen to the Opposition Leader’s response in Parliament on the death of her father. It is also unacceptable for her to put words spoken by one person onto another person. Notice there is no condemnation of Williamson by our PM.
Madge Fahy
“It seems the PM’s distaste for sexist remarks stopped at the door of her own Speaker.” – Annabel Crabb
Damien Spillane
God have mercy on us. We are throwing away our freedom in this “Great South Land of The Holy Spirit”
Anna Cook
Thank you Bill . This is a very good resume of a absolutely sick debate at our nations parliament. Your outline is most succinct and calls a “spade a spade”. It is quite disturbing that these socalled honourable people, seem to be getting away with these charades. But will they? You would think that the Australian People have good memories of these shocking episodes when it come to electing the next government.
I dread to think of how much more damage can be done before we next go to the polling booth.
Keep on lifting the veil on these these people.
Bill Heggers Perth
Andrew Bolt lets us know that I and he are not alone in being repulsed by Julia and her mates:
Once again, Julia Gillard’s judgement has proved catastrophic.
Janet Albrechtsen:
So desperate to cling to power by boosting its numbers in the House of Representatives by one extra vote, the Gillard government appointed a man who should never have been Speaker. And then when Slipper’s reputation was completely ruined by revelations of his outrageously lewd texts to staffer James Ashby, the Julia Gillard could immediately have taken the high ground, condemned Slipper’s vulgar behaviour and demanded he resign.
That didn’t happen. It was left to Slipper to do one right thing by the office of Speaker. He resigned. And the Prime Minister is left looking like a goose. She will now struggle to be taken seriously about the very serious issue of misogyny. Double standards don’t get much worse than this.
Peter Hartcher:
JULIA GILLARD confronted a stark choice yesterday – the political defence of her parliamentary numbers, or the defence of the principle of respect for women.
She chose to defend her numbers. She chose power over principle. It was the wrong choice. It was an unprincipled decision and turned out not to be pragmatic either. The Prime Minister gained nothing and lost a great deal…
The moment Gillard rose to defend Slipper and keep him in office, she chose to defend the indefensible, to excuse the inexcusable.
Peter Slipper:
I do understand the arguments of those who argued against me…
Judith Sloan:
The really troubling implication of this showdown is that Gillard will now mispresent any criticims of her peformance and the performance of her government as examples of sexism and misogyny. She will play this card, even if it is the lowest trick in the book, constantly portraying herself as a helpless victim. A sad day for feminism.
Come off, Julia. I say just suck it up.
Peter van Onselen:
IS it possible for a political party and a prime minister to have more egg on their collective faces than Labor and Julia Gillard do right now? Having fought to the last man (and woman) to defend his right to remain Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper himself resigned last night… It was a sight to behold watching the conga-line of female Labor MPs vote to retain Slipper as Speaker after so many of them have condemned Abbott for causing offence to women.
Dennis Shanahan:
Rather than taking the initiative and leaving Slipper to fall on his sword, Labor went to full-blooded battle and tried to make political gains in its obsessive war on the Liberal leader.
When it was obvious to everyone that the new trove of degrading sexual texts unearthed in court meant Slipper’s career was over and that Labor should take the lead in his removal to justify its high moral stance on sexism and denigration of women, the Prime Minister dug in.
Michelle Grattan:
The moral of the Slipper saga goes back to its beginning. The government wooed Slipper in a highly cynical exercise to improve its numbers. Not only was he a Liberal ‘’rat’’, but he was a ‘’rat’’ with a bad reputation.
The government thought it a great coup, but all it got was a huge load of trouble.
Miranda Devine:
THE entire rotten edifice the government has created to smear Tony Abbott as a vile sexist misogynist came crashing down yesterday in Question Time.
After weeks of taking high umbrage at imagined instances of misogyny emanating from the muscular Opposition leader, yesterday the Prime Minister and her sanctimonious sycophants, such as Tony Windsor, voted to protect an actual proven misogynist.
We have let the “sexual cat” out of the bag when we refused to legally protect the sanctity of heterosexual marriage and yet we are surprised and upset when it causes the havoc we should have known it would cause, if we had just stopped long enough to think about it back then where it all started with the “no fault divorce”.
Many of course have warned, but not many have headed. It must be just so confusing for people when they are told, “sure you can do this, just keep it in your private life and don’t bring it into the public life”… etc.
It is impossible for people to do this, the private life and values will always spill over into the public life and behaviour.
It is a double standard to give humans freedom that we weren’t designed to cope with and then still expect “proper behaviour”. I am not excusing people like Peter Slipper, I am just trying to expose where the whole thing went wrong.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Have people seen today’s news? Gillard is hailed as a hero for speaking against Abbott! Unbelievable how twisted and depraved our society really is! I can’t wait to see her go as PM!
Liz Gee
Well, That Made Sense, Didn’t It
Julia Gillard has just attacked Tony Abbott because he’s called for Peter Slipper’s resignation.
She has called him – in an outburst of startling unoriginality – a sexist and a misogynist.
So, let’s do the math:
– The twice-married Peter Slipper repeatedly sexts a young and good-looking gay man who works for him
– Peter Slipper expresses in these sexts a marked dislike for lady bits
– Peter Slipper tells the court that he loves his wife (despite her having the same unpleasant lady bits)
– Peter Slipper is therefore Husband of the Year and an innocent victim of Liberal Party machinations.
– Tony Abbott shows no signs of being fazed by strong women, having been married to one for years
– Tony Abbott turns his back on Nicola Roxon in parliament
– Tony Abbott calls for the resignation of lady-bits-insulter and office masher Peter Slipper as Speaker of the House of Representatives
– Tony Abbott is a misogynist sexist pig.
– Julia Gillard was involved in the 1990s with a married union boss who has left her in the lurch to answer (or not answer) a series of awkward questions
– Julia Gillard set up what she later admitted was a ‘slush fund’ for her boyfriend
– Julia Gillard resigned under mysterious circumstances after an internal investigation of the above at Slater & Gordon
– Julia Gillard became Prime Minister by knifing the incumbent with the help of some union buddies
– Julia Gillard has appointed incompetent women to her Cabinet, including Nicola Roxon and Tanya Plibersek
– Julia Gillard is therefore Woman of the Year and an innocent victim of Liberal Party sexism and misogyny.
Julia stated today that she stands for all women and they are sick of the sexist and misogynist Tony Abbott and she will keep up the battle. Well she doesn’t speak for me simply because she I totally disagree on the most important issue of LIFE, especially that of the baby in the womb.
To me she comes across as a bully the way she speaks and if looks could kill, the opposition, especially Tony Abbott, well, every picture tells a story.
God help Australia.
Madge Fahy
The parliament has really lost its way. Mr Slipper has not sufficient moral standing to remain in parliament and the leaders on both sides of the house need to stop their petty squabbling and start leading our nation.
Gary Morgan
Let’s see. Abbott is happily married to a strong woman and both are blessed with three intelligent and lovely daughters (as I am). Gillard had an affair with a dubious character who was her client, then later shacked up in the Lodge with a man whom she wouldn’t marry. So who has a problem with the opposite sex? She does, as does her Mr Slipper.
The government is so afraid of Abbott that it has to dig up his past right back to when he was an immature student. I can barely wait until the next election to vote Labor out.
John Snowden
Where are all these supposed “strong women” in the Labor Party? They melt at the slightest perceived insult, such as Mr Abbott referring to women do the ironing.
The Prime Minister has been acting like a teenage school girl and saying “He called me names, Miss. Make him take it back.” Most parliamentarians leave it to colleagues to defend them if someone appears to slight them.
I honour the office PM, and I was just beginning to have more respect for the lady herself before she behaved so badly on Tuesday.
David Morrison
Talk about hypocrisy. The Labor government complained that the Liberal Students didn’t leave Alan Jones’ speech when he said those silly things and yet when a comedian says something very sexist a function held by the CMFEU with plenty of Labor politicians in tow, they fail to do what they accuse the others side of not doing. What a Bunch of Hypocrites.
Unbelievable for a PM to act the way that ‘she’ does. Shame on her.
Judith Bond
A letter in today’s paper reminded me of a trenchant criticism that some have made of Mr Abbott. He committed the sin of referring to the Prime Minister as “she”. As an idle exercise I have just looked at her speech again and counted at least 24 instances where she (pardon the word) refers to Mr Abbott as “he”. We have now a war on pronouns, but a very one-sided one.
David Morrison
Slipper remains a priest in the Traditional Anglican Communion, with the full support of his bishop. How typical of the preaching profession – do as I say, not as I do.
What is the point in appealing to the “honourable thing”? Why would she do that?
Tas Walker
Clearly something is wrong
Clearly “Politicians are NOT all the same”
Why else has it been necessary for so many years to have “honourable” included in their titles – to remind them of their obligation to the Australian people to behave in all their dealings with the utmost integrity.
Phil Brabin
The sooner we can get rid of this current government the better.
Ian Nairn
Thanks guys
Another piece on this:
“Julia Gillard could immediately have taken the high ground, condemned Slipper’s vulgar behaviour and demanded he resign. That didn’t happen. It was left to Slipper to do one right thing by the office of Speaker. He resigned. And the Prime Minister is left looking like a goose. She will now struggle to be taken seriously about the very serious issue of misogyny. Double standards don’t get much worse than this….”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/slipper-trumps-the-handbag-hit-squad/story-e6frg7bo-1226492383118
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Well said Phil.
On whom do our “honourable” politicians depend for their honour?
“My salvation and my honour depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge.” Psalm 62:7
I have always applied this to myself when people may be slurring my reputation. I remind myself it doesn’t matter what people think, it is what God thinks and he will ensure that I have the reputation I deserve. However, I also see that if we depend on God, our reputation and honour in his eyes will follow. If we do not depend on God it follows we may not have much honour.
We desperately need Godly men and women leading and representing us.
Richard Jardine
Bravo! Election now!!
Damien Spillane
As I long term member of the Labor Party and Labor voter I saw the writing on the wall and when the Party voted for a platform to change the Marriage act and I immediately handed in my letter of resignation from the People’s Party gone rouge and crossing the line of immorality
They lost all semblance of what the Labor Party originally stood for. It became totally out of touch with it’s grass roots members just for a mess of pottage (a minority gay votes, less than 1% of the Voters) just because it seemed popular to as one said the Howler Monkeys shrieking long and loud, and what for? Peanuts.
Leigh Stebbins
The word ‘shame’ is often used in Parliamentary debate. For the Prime Minister to respond is such a spiteful way was totally unacceptable. How could any woman support a Speaker of the House who uses such vile language about their own gender let alone a PM.
It is obvious that the PM did not listen to the Opposition Leader’s response in Parliament on the death of her father. It is also unacceptable for her to put words spoken by one person onto another person. Notice there is no condemnation of Williamson by our PM.
Madge Fahy
“It seems the PM’s distaste for sexist remarks stopped at the door of her own Speaker.” – Annabel Crabb
Damien Spillane
God have mercy on us. We are throwing away our freedom in this “Great South Land of The Holy Spirit”
Anna Cook
Thank you Bill . This is a very good resume of a absolutely sick debate at our nations parliament. Your outline is most succinct and calls a “spade a spade”. It is quite disturbing that these socalled honourable people, seem to be getting away with these charades. But will they? You would think that the Australian People have good memories of these shocking episodes when it come to electing the next government.
I dread to think of how much more damage can be done before we next go to the polling booth.
Keep on lifting the veil on these these people.
Bill Heggers Perth
Andrew Bolt lets us know that I and he are not alone in being repulsed by Julia and her mates:
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/why_does_labor_follow_a_leader_so_disastrous/
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
We have let the “sexual cat” out of the bag when we refused to legally protect the sanctity of heterosexual marriage and yet we are surprised and upset when it causes the havoc we should have known it would cause, if we had just stopped long enough to think about it back then where it all started with the “no fault divorce”.
Many of course have warned, but not many have headed. It must be just so confusing for people when they are told, “sure you can do this, just keep it in your private life and don’t bring it into the public life”… etc.
It is impossible for people to do this, the private life and values will always spill over into the public life and behaviour.
It is a double standard to give humans freedom that we weren’t designed to cope with and then still expect “proper behaviour”. I am not excusing people like Peter Slipper, I am just trying to expose where the whole thing went wrong.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Have people seen today’s news? Gillard is hailed as a hero for speaking against Abbott! Unbelievable how twisted and depraved our society really is! I can’t wait to see her go as PM!
Liz Gee
Well, That Made Sense, Didn’t It
Julia Gillard has just attacked Tony Abbott because he’s called for Peter Slipper’s resignation.
She has called him – in an outburst of startling unoriginality – a sexist and a misogynist.
So, let’s do the math:
– The twice-married Peter Slipper repeatedly sexts a young and good-looking gay man who works for him
– Peter Slipper expresses in these sexts a marked dislike for lady bits
– Peter Slipper tells the court that he loves his wife (despite her having the same unpleasant lady bits)
– Peter Slipper is therefore Husband of the Year and an innocent victim of Liberal Party machinations.
– Tony Abbott shows no signs of being fazed by strong women, having been married to one for years
– Tony Abbott turns his back on Nicola Roxon in parliament
– Tony Abbott calls for the resignation of lady-bits-insulter and office masher Peter Slipper as Speaker of the House of Representatives
– Tony Abbott is a misogynist sexist pig.
– Julia Gillard was involved in the 1990s with a married union boss who has left her in the lurch to answer (or not answer) a series of awkward questions
– Julia Gillard set up what she later admitted was a ‘slush fund’ for her boyfriend
– Julia Gillard resigned under mysterious circumstances after an internal investigation of the above at Slater & Gordon
– Julia Gillard became Prime Minister by knifing the incumbent with the help of some union buddies
– Julia Gillard has appointed incompetent women to her Cabinet, including Nicola Roxon and Tanya Plibersek
– Julia Gillard is therefore Woman of the Year and an innocent victim of Liberal Party sexism and misogyny.
Yup. All adds up to me.
http://philippamartyr.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/well-that-made-sense-didnt-it.html?utm_source=ATA+Full&utm_campaign=bf1f72470a-Bizzaro+World&utm_medium=email
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Julia stated today that she stands for all women and they are sick of the sexist and misogynist Tony Abbott and she will keep up the battle. Well she doesn’t speak for me simply because she I totally disagree on the most important issue of LIFE, especially that of the baby in the womb.
To me she comes across as a bully the way she speaks and if looks could kill, the opposition, especially Tony Abbott, well, every picture tells a story.
God help Australia.
Madge Fahy
The parliament has really lost its way. Mr Slipper has not sufficient moral standing to remain in parliament and the leaders on both sides of the house need to stop their petty squabbling and start leading our nation.
Gary Morgan
Let’s see. Abbott is happily married to a strong woman and both are blessed with three intelligent and lovely daughters (as I am). Gillard had an affair with a dubious character who was her client, then later shacked up in the Lodge with a man whom she wouldn’t marry. So who has a problem with the opposite sex? She does, as does her Mr Slipper.
The government is so afraid of Abbott that it has to dig up his past right back to when he was an immature student. I can barely wait until the next election to vote Labor out.
John Snowden
Where are all these supposed “strong women” in the Labor Party? They melt at the slightest perceived insult, such as Mr Abbott referring to women do the ironing.
The Prime Minister has been acting like a teenage school girl and saying “He called me names, Miss. Make him take it back.” Most parliamentarians leave it to colleagues to defend them if someone appears to slight them.
I honour the office PM, and I was just beginning to have more respect for the lady herself before she behaved so badly on Tuesday.
David Morrison
Talk about hypocrisy. The Labor government complained that the Liberal Students didn’t leave Alan Jones’ speech when he said those silly things and yet when a comedian says something very sexist a function held by the CMFEU with plenty of Labor politicians in tow, they fail to do what they accuse the others side of not doing. What a Bunch of Hypocrites.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/pm-condemns-offensive-joke-about-tony-abbotts-chief-of-staff-peta-credlin/story-fn59niix-1226493565665
Ian Nairn
Unbelievable for a PM to act the way that ‘she’ does. Shame on her.
Judith Bond
A letter in today’s paper reminded me of a trenchant criticism that some have made of Mr Abbott. He committed the sin of referring to the Prime Minister as “she”. As an idle exercise I have just looked at her speech again and counted at least 24 instances where she (pardon the word) refers to Mr Abbott as “he”. We have now a war on pronouns, but a very one-sided one.
David Morrison
Slipper remains a priest in the Traditional Anglican Communion, with the full support of his bishop. How typical of the preaching profession – do as I say, not as I do.
Ron Jamieson, Canberra
Yes quite so Ron
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch