Politics

Watch A Liberal Party Vice President Get Completely, Repeatedly Owned In her ‘Q&A’ Debut

Possibly the worst 'Q&A' debut in history.

by Joseph Earp  26 March 2019
Teena McQueen on Q&A

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There’s a reason that people on Twitter sometimes call Q&A “the bad show”.

After all, not only does the program have a habit of platforming some of the most contentious talking heads in the world, it can also be straight-up infuriating television, requiring viewers to sit there and endure views so sour that they would make milk curdle.

Last night’s episode of the program, which featured Roxane Gay, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, Labor MP Tony Burke, Liberal MP Craig Laundy and Liberal party Vice President Teena McQueen was particularly intense viewing, at times about as easy to watch as root canal surgery.

A lot of that was thanks to McQueen, who seemed determined to make the most dramatic impression possible during her Q&A debut.

For a start, McQueen came out swinging at Jacinda Ardern, whose handling of the Christchurch terror attacks has been heaped with praise by pundits around the world.

Interrupting Gay, who was praising Ardern for banning semi-automatic weapons “within six days” of the shooting, McQueen offered her own two cents.

“We did that,” she said. “The Liberal party did that years ago.”

“Of course you did,” Gay shot back to the laughter of the audience.

“You seem to think that’s funny,” McQueen replied. “John Howard did do that. Jacinda Ardern is copying exactly…” she began, before more laughter and groans cut her off.

“May I also remind you Jacinda Ardern is only there because she formed an alliance with [conservative leader] Winston Peters,” McQueen continued, doubling down. “I think everyone forgets that particular fact.”

But that wasn’t all. McQueen later referred to Milo Yiannopoulos as an “entertainer” and also later strayed into territory that bordered on the libellous, doubling down on Peter Dutton’s remarks that Greens leader Richard Di Natale was as guilty of inciting discord as Fraser Anning.

“The worst hate speech I’ve heard recently is Richard Di Natale,” McQueen said, to the murmuring protest of her fellow panellists. “I mean, he comes out with absolutely disgraceful things. He’s incited violence against the likes of Andrew Bolt.”

Later, pressed on the remarks, McQueen doubled down. “The vile language used against conservatives is disgraceful.”

“Can I just say it’s probably defamatory to say someone has incited violence against someone else,” Tony Jones told McQueen.

“It was definitely hate speech,” she later (sort of) acquiesced.

Safe to say, McQueen’s performance has not gone down particularly well. She was roundly criticised online during Q&A, with writer Benjamin Law describing her performance as “one-hour live seppuku”, and in the show’s aftermath this morning, she has been described as the worst guest in the program’s history.

Even senior Liberal figureheads are distancing themselves from McQueen, with the head of the Liberal Women’s council arguing that the Vice President was not authorised “to speak on behalf of the Liberal Party”.

So yes, as far as Q&A debuts go, it’s safe to call this one ‘memorable’.