Women in Australia don’t exactly see Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a champion of their rights. As further evidence, Abbott recently claimed that repealing the carbon tax is the best thing he’s done for them all year.
And just why does Abbott think that repeal has helped women? According to Think Progress, Abbott explained it his way: “As many of us know, women are particularly focused on the household budget and the repeal of the carbon tax means a $550 a year benefit for the average family.”
Apparently Abbott has learned nothing from the backlash over an even worse faux pas he made in 2010 on the same issue by saying that Australian housewives “need to understand as they do the ironing" that "their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up.”
Abbott’s sexist and anything but green remarks certainly warrant the satirical responses he’s received from social media especially those showing how his comments and polices are a throwback to the 1950s media version of women’s roles in society. They also warrant his stepping down from his self-appointed position as Minister of Women.
We, the undersigned, say Tony Abbott has no business pretending to be an appropriate Minister of Women, and that position should go to someone who actually advocates for women’s rights.
Some believe Abbott’s self-appointment to that position was a cynical Public Relations stunt in the first place after his ignorant, outdated comments about Australian women hurt his ratings in the polls.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Adele Ferguson adds that when Abbott made changes in the government’s ministry last week, he should have demoted himself as Minister of Women and put a woman who could do a better job in his place, especially since only two of his present cabinet members are women.
Responding to his comments about ironing and his claim that the “deal” that Australia “gives to women… isobviously pretty good,” Ferguson, among others, notes that
The statistics show there is still a long way to go to bridge the gap between men and women on so many levels. For instance, one in three women experience physical violence, one in five women at some stage in their career experience sexual harassment, the gap between pay is still double digit and the number of women in senior executive positions or on boards is still too low.
Abbott’s comments about women are worse than outdated, they’re sexist and show he has no business being in the position he’s assumed. We request that Abbott find an adequate replacement for Minister of Women.
