Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're in the midst of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. When you look around at the state of the country—and, indeed, the world—when it comes to the treatment of women, the attitudes towards women and girls, you could be forgiven for thinking that things are not looking very good.

We know, of course, that the election of Donald Trump in the United States has been hailed by misogynistic bros as a win for men against women. It's disgusting, and a real shame. The phrase 'your body, my choice' is being plastered across the internet, slipped into women's feeds from men who are antagonising, harassing and vilifying them. It's plastered across photos and memes from men online who want to send a message to women and the rest of the community that the rights of women are on the line. When there has been the election of a President who has been found to have harassed and assaulted women, boasted about his treatment of women and actively led the stripping of women's rights when it comes to decisions about their own bodies, you can understand why women, not just in America but around the world, are horrified.

Then you talk to young women here in Australia. I have a 17-year-old daughter, and she and her peers are shaken by what they are seeing and the attitudes to women and young girls that they are hearing. You can turn on the radio any weekday morning between 6 am and 10 am to hear from Australia's own Andrew Tate. That, of course, is Kyle Sandilands, a man who makes millions of dollars every year off the vilification of women and the promotion of violent behaviour and misogynistic attitudes. That is all done while pocketing millions of dollars, backed by advertisers who fund this particular radio show.

Who goes on these types of radio shows? Who hangs out with the likes of Kyle Sandilands? Well, the Prime Minister went to his wedding. I don't know what that says about the company you keep. Of course, Mr Dutton doesn't mind hanging out with him either. The two men at the top of the leadership of the two main political parties in this country hang out with this bloke. Only days ago they were asked about the comments and attitude of Mr Sandilands and refused to condemn him. They refused to condemn him. Sexist jokes, misogynistic attitudes being promoted, racism—it's vulgar, yes, but it's also dangerous.

More and more we hear from parents right across the country that both young women and young men need positive role models. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition denounce what goes on on social media because the attitudes are affecting the confidence and perceptions of young people—how they interact, how they feel about their bodies. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, talk about cracking down and banning kids from social media because they're worried about what girls and young women think about their own bodies, and they won't even condemn a bloke that gets paid millions of dollars day after day to spew hatred and misogyny. Give me a break. It is time for Australian politicians to show, to lead and to do what they say. We call on men in this place to stand up and denounce the sexism and misogyny that is being promoted, whether it's online by influencers, whether it's by political leaders or whether it's by shock jocks and radio stars.

Of course, Mr Dutton has announced that he doesn't want a debate about abortion in the upcoming election because he knows it's a vote loser. But I tell you what: it's a preselection winner in the Liberal Party. You can win preselection by being antiwomen and antichoice, but Peter Dutton doesn't want you to talk about it, because he knows it's a vote loser. You can't have it both ways, Mr Dutton. This is the problem that Australia is facing right now as we hurtle towards the next federal election. Mr Dutton has made it very clear that he is going to take his policy cues and his campaign inspiration from Mr Donald Trump. We've got members of both his frontbench and his backbench already chomping at the bit to follow in Trump's footsteps, and women's rights will be on the chopping block—make no mistake.

In my home state of South Australia, we have Senator Antic, who now runs the show in the South Australian Liberal Party, who desperately wants to strip women's rights away when it comes to access to safe abortion. They all talk about it in their branch meetings, and they use it as a threat when it comes to preselection inside the Liberal Party so they can get the whack jobs the seats in parliament. But Mr Dutton doesn't want the public to know. Women are smarter than this, and we can see what is going on here. We know that when you hang out with the likes of people like Kyle Sandilands, the Andrew Tate of Australian radio, and you're getting your backbenchers to do all the dirty work when it comes to stripping women's rights on abortion and playing politics with their bodies, that you're not the prime minister for Australian women.

As a South Australian woman and mother, I am horrified that so much of this is being pushed and given a licence by Liberal Party members, senators and MPs from South Australia. If South Australians really knew the dirty tricks and the nasty things that the Liberal Party want to do and are trying to do under the radar at the behest of Mr Dutton, they would be shocked. But they will find out. It doesn't matter how much Mr Dutton wants to bury and cover up the real agenda—the Trumpian policies of his party and the Liberal whack jobs, the National Party crazies, the hardcore rump of the coalition. It doesn't matter how much he wants to paper over it; they are desperate to compete for airtime, desperate to be liked by each other, and the Australian public and the South Australian public will see them for what they are. Mr Dutton might not want abortion on the agenda, but women certainly want certainty and they want to keep their choice. (Time expired)