Politics

These Two Pictures Show How Differently Men And Women Get Treated In Parliament

One is a man acting like a fool, the other is a woman just doing her job.

by Tom Clift  4 December 2018
Ian MacDonald's Adani earing vs. Patricia Karvelas shoulders in Parliament

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A bloke gets to parade around Parliament with the name of a mining conglomerate literally hanging off the side of his head, but a woman gets kicked out of the House of Representatives for showing “too much shoulder”. That’s right friends, it’s time for the Canberra Fashion Update: Massive Sexism Edition!!

Let’s start with the Senate, where on Monday colossal knobhead Ian Macdonald rocked up to work wearing an enormous homemade earring sporting the words “You Can’t Stop Adani”. The LNP Senator from Queensland, whose devotion to coal is so fierce and pure that he once wore a high vis mining vest in the chamber, was trying to one-up Greens Senator Larissa Waters, who donned a pair of (normal sized) “Stop Adani” earrings in the Senate last week.

Macdonald claimed that the billboard attached to his earlobe was there to highlight two things: “the deliberate flouting of Senate rules by the Greens” and “the view of most Queenslanders that you can’t stop Adani”.

Seems like perfectly normal behaviour to me!

Related
Construction On The Massive Adani Coal Mine Will Begin In Weeks

Meanwhile, on the other side of Parliament, ABC Radio presenter Patricia Karvelas was ejected from the press gallery during Question Time because she was apparently showing “too much shoulder”.

“The attendant came up to me, she was very polite, she said she was essentially executing orders of her supervisor, who said my clothes, what I’m wearing [shows] too much shoulder,” Karvelas told the ABC. “Basically, I needed to cover up more, I needed a jacket.”

“I did contest it … I said it’s not a singlet, it’s actually half a sleeve and I do think it’s in keeping with parliamentary standards. It’s a pretty professional pantsuit to be honest — I quite like it. But she said that wasn’t appropriate and I had to leave so I actually was marched out of Question Time.”

So, to summarise: massive fuckoff traffic signs on your head are completely acceptable, but a woman’s arms are sinful and must be covered at all times.

Feature images via Alice Workman/Twitter and Patricia Karvelas/Twitter.