A man has been fined $500 for behaving in an offensive manner after he called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a “fucking muppet” during a public appearance at the Bathurst 1000 earlier this year.

Tasmanian man Allan Maccaul, 26, copped the fine in Bathurst local court this morning after he was arrested at Mount Panorama on October 7.

According to The Central Western Daily, Maccaul was arrested by police after accosting the PM when he left pit lane to interact with the public during Australia’s most famous motor race.

Maccaul called Morrison a “fucking muppet” several times before he was cautioned by police. He then repeated the insult again, and was arrested. A further search of Maccaul’s possessions turned up a small amount of marijuana and LSD, for which he was also fined.

Political Correctness Gone Mad

But hold on a minute, is it really an offence to call the Prime Minister a “fucking muppet”?

Let’s not forget that earlier this year Scott Morrison labelled his entire parliamentary party — presumably including himself — a bunch of muppets because of the way they behaved during the leadership crisis.

So if ScoMo agrees that he himself is a muppet, is it only the use “fucking” that necessitates a $500 fine? That doesn’t seem right.

Late last year, a magistrate ruled that Sydney’s famous “sandwich board activist” Danny Lim hadn’t broken the law when he implied that Tony Abbott is a cunt.

In that case, Lim’s 2016 conviction for offensive behaviour was overturned when the magistrate ruled that “cunt” is less offensive in Australia than it is in other countries, due to its more common usage, and that Lim was engaging in political debate.

“Politicians and their views are often subject to criticism in public,” Judge Andrew Scotting said at the time. “This is an essential and accepted part of any democracy.

“That criticism can often extend to personal denigration or perhaps even ridicule, but still maintain its essential character as political comment. There is no reason to conclude that the Prime Minister, as the leader of the Federal Government should be treated any differently to any other person who holds or seeks political office.”

In another case, LGBTIQ activists had their convictions overturned after it was ruled that telling anti-LGBTIQ politicians, such as Fred Nile, to “fuck off”.

 

You can read more about what exactly constitutes offensive language here.

Meanwhile, we say, justice for Allan Maccaul.