For Cooking the Planet with Tony Abbott, just add misogyny #thankstony – @Takvera

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Prime Minister Tony Abbott has labeled the Carbon Tax abolition as his greatest achievement as Minister for Women in 2014.

What a world we live in where we face major impacts on human civilisation from climate change and environmental degradation and Australia’s Prime Minister and self appointed Minister for Women Tony Abbott identifies the abolition of the carbon tax as his greatest achievement in 2014 for women in Australia.

The comments were made in an interview on the Today show when speaking about the recent cabinet reshuffle. The cabinet reshuffle doubled the representation of women in cabinet to two.

Host of the program Lisa Wilkinson asked Tony Abbott to nominate his top achievement in his capacity as Minister for Women. To which Prime Minister Abbott replied:

“Well, you know, it is very important to do the right thing by families and households. 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.”

Abbott also promised his paid parental leave scheme would also be introduced to parliament in 2015, although it has it’s detractors in the Liberal Party Room and is heavily criticised by Labor, the Greens and crossbench senators and unlikely to pass.

Swift reaction on social media

Abbott’s comments brought swift reaction in responses on social media with the hashtags of #thankstony and #burntheironing, and #PutYourIronOut being popular.

Amy Stockwell, in an opinion article on Mammamia, said “It’s time for the Minister For Women to resign.” and listing a myriad of critical issues for women that are not being adequately addressed by this government.

Here is how the UK Independent reported the story. Here is how Ari Phillips wrote up the story in the US for Climate Progress website.

Women in Cabinet doubled to 2 of 19

In the ministerial reshuffle Sussan Ley has been elevated to Cabinet and been named as Health Minister and Minister for Sport. This still makes Australia a lower representation for women in executive Government than Afghanistan and Iraq.

Two other women were elevated to the front bench in support roles in the outer ministry. Kelly O’Dwyer will take on the role of Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer. Karen Andrews, a former engineer, will take on the role of Parliamentary Secretary to the newly retitled Minister for Industry and Science, Ian McFarlane.

This bit of musical satire by @vanbadham, @maevegobash & Claire outlined a few of the issues one would think to be more important than abolition of the carbon tax, including to list a few: disproportional representation among the poor due to cuts to benefits, cuts to education, the gender pay gap, poor ministerial representation, high rates of domestic violence. #burntheironing

Just to take you back two years to 2012 and Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech on Tony Abbott. Well, Tony Abbott has continued denigrating the women of Australia.

Morrison moved from Immigration to Social Services

Of course women are also dependent on social services through Family allowances and benefits and Abbott has moved Scott Morrison to Minister for Social Services. In Immigration Morrison presided over a cruel and inhumane policy of offshore detention of asylum seekers and refugees.

A decision announced on Monday, under the previous Minister Kevin Andrews, resulted in Social Services scrapping funding for homeless and housing groups on December 21. What a wonderful Christmas present this must be for these programs to hear.

Morrison’s appointment to Social Services does not portend well for the socially disadvantaged dependent on benefits and social security if his role as Immigration Minister is anything to go by. Refugee advocate and barristerr Julian Burnside outlines Morrison’s calculated cruelty which he leaves as his legacy in Immigration

Climate denier appointed to help Hunt with environment

Also in the cabinet reshuffle Science has made a return, at least in name, to the ministry with Industry Minister Ian McFarlane assuming the title of Minister for Industry and Science.

But don’t worry too much about the Environment Ministry becoming too uppity under Environment Minister Greg Hunt as the Hon Bob Baldwin MP (Patterson electorate) will become Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and provide a strong focus on the Green Army programme.

In an interview on the global town hall site Baldwin gave his considered opinion which is decidedly favouring climate denial than acknowledging the scientific facts:

“On climate change, I am neither a sceptic nor a denier. I have read widely and talked to scientists, but I am not a scientist. Maybe climate change is cyclic? I do not know, because there are too many subjective opinions in this argument, each proffering a different expert perspective.

In August it was revealed in ICAC proceedings that Baldwin strongly urged the NSW Coalition Government in 2011 to support Nathan Tinkler’s Buildev coal loader project.

Counsel assisting the ICAC Geoffrey Watson described Mr Baldwin as “really spruiking the case” and “in effect [giving] Buildev a right to review the terms of his letter”, according to a report in the Newcastle Herald.

Baldwin has a history of climate denial as clearly ennunciated in a speech in China in 2010 at the APEC SME summit, and in parliament, all clearly outlined in this report by Giles Parkinson at Renew Economy: Tony Abbott appoints climate skeptic to “help” on environment.

Neither will Foreign Minister Julie Bishop be allowed to get carried away and commit more than a semblance of Australia’s fair share to the UN climate negotiations as climate sceptic and Trade Minister Andrew Robb was appointed early in December to assist her with climate negotiations and has already announced to Australian business leaders Australia may not sign on to a new global climate deal.


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Comments


  1. And add to all that you have outlined that Science has now been completely absorbed by Industry. It has been a very grim end to a year of negatives for Australian women, academia, the ABC, the unemployed, the homeless. the aged and ageing pensioners and, of course, asylum seekers. Scott Morrison will surely shape up as an unredeemed Scrooge as Minister for Social Services and Peter Dutton is unlikely to add any further grace to the desperate and detained.


  2. Tony pretends not to know or not to understand what will be the consequences of his climate anti-action policies.

    For instance, Mr Abbott seems to think he can “stop the boats”. And he claims to be building a “stronger economy”.

    “Among all the statistics about temperature increase, polar melting and sea level rise associated with a warming world, the impact on hundreds of millions of people forced to leave their homes due to climate change is often not fully considered,” wrote Climate News Network in an article about what is waiting for us around the corner unless we quickly change course and slash the carbon emissions.

    You may feel proud, Tony, thinking you have put some Australian women’s household budgets in a $500 better balance annually (as your greatest achievement) while allowing your friends in the coal and gas industry to pollute some years more, but as far as boat refugees are concerned, hm… how do you think the impact will be on Australia if hundreds of millions of people are forced to leave their homes?

    » Climate News Network:
    Migration merits place in mainstream of climate debate

    http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/migration-merits-place-mainstream-climate-debate


  3. Tony Abbott rules Coalition with the Labor messy leftover deep deficit, but Labor and former union leader Bill Shorten, also known as the PIE MINISTER (when he was minister of Gillard, he used the coarse language to a shop keeper when the pie ran out) whose don’t want to help government fix the economy problem, therefore they have used the political football taken back government, but Labor has no policy showing better Coalition instead the criticize as their best policy. Labor is like a house fired culprit blame the fire fighter while they are trying to save the house. The close ally with Labor is Greens, it has no policy, they have done harm for national interest than good. Both Labor and Greens have failed the policy, then the climate change to be their best policy. The climate has never claimed, so the fallen political parties could use it as the tool for political ambition and also keeping the seat at parliament houses.
    While the Australia economy is needing repair and the terror threat, the fallen party claims about the numerous female in lower house, it is pointless and farce. Whatever, Tony Abbott stopped the boat, that saves multiple million dollars and lessens the terrorist penetrate by the loopholes of immigration law. The human concerns of UN since July 28, 1951 that is out of date, the humanitarian scheme to be used by people smuggle, asylum seeker is not refugee, so the HUMAN RIGHTS turns HUMAN WRONG.
    The national economy is big issue for country, Labor did it, but they shun the responsibility, indeed Labor has used it for the political purpose in the next election.


  4. The only reason I would blame the ALP for the Abbott Government, is because the Rudd supporters were so utterly vile in their undermining of Julia Gillard. And for that they should die of shame, but that’s another matter.

    All the Abbott Government has done is take major strides BACKWARDS, on an alarming range of matters (kids’ education, Americanising (enormous student debts) universities, social welfare for the poor, dismantling affordable health care, trashing our international reputation as a compassionate country that respected human rights) of concern to many, many Australians (Fact Hoa Minh Truong – over 60% of Australians think the Abbott/Hockey budget was unfair).

    Sure the economy needs fixing – so why not tax the rich who receive generously tax payer subsidised superannuation benefits? Tell me why the rich need their health insurance subsidised, not to mention the “Rolls Royce” child care plan (this is especially for the wealthy – as everyone else already has a maternity scheme where we receive the same benefits) and how cutting $8 billion (approx) from the budget in stopping the carbon tax (which we’d all learned to live with, and NONE of us have seen the $550 we were promised) is managing the economy? Many multi national corporations don’t bother to pay tax at all. AND now that mining companies won’t be needing human anymore to drive their trucks – why the bloody hell are we still subsiding their diesel???

    Why the obsession of this Government to convince us we should all be poor, and we should stop trying to stand in the way of people who just want to get filthy rich? So the “1%” can have even more than the 99% they already have? In this time of massive economic inequality, why is this Government so intent of seeing that both the poor, working and middle classes have even less? Their vision of most Australians surviving as the ‘working poor’ is truly disturbing.

    Can political donations really buy you that much power and influence? Can our political system really be that rotten? Can Scott Morrison really be Minister for Social Services?!!!! Jesus Tony, you must really, really hate poor people..