Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The last day of sitting is a great opportunity to reflect on the record of the current government. Today I want to make some comments specifically on this government's record in its treatment of women.

When I heard that the Prime Minister had named himself the minister for women, I laughed. I thought, 'surely this has got to be a joke.' In truth, any man calling himself the minister for women is absurd. Men have been trying to speak for women for thousands of years and that is part of the problem. But this is the man who called abortion 'the easy way out'. This is the man who stood in front of signs that called our first female Prime Minister a 'bitch' and a 'witch'. This is a man who has referred to the role of women as 'doing the ironing' and told us that the best thing he has done for women is the carbon tax—because women are more inclined to manage the household budget. You could not make this stuff up if you tried.

See this speech in context