The Australian is right. Tim Mathieson’s silly joke is only an issue because of the hypocrisy, cant and illiberalism of his partner, Prime Minister Julia Gillard:
WHILE his partner Julia Gillard might not thank him for it, the man affectionately known as the first bloke has done the nation a great favour. Tim Mathieson’s tasteless joke - complete with mildly racial and sexist undertones - has exposed the cant of the Prime Minister’s misogynist campaign against Tony Abbott, and even underlined the absurdity of the government’s proposal to further impinge on free speech through new anti-discrimination laws…
This time, if Mr Mathieson has generated political embarrassment for Ms Gillard, she should reflect on how she has brought this upon herself. Her confected outrage over misogyny, devised as a political attack against Mr Abbott, has helped to introduce an unreasonable new standard that few people could live up to. When the Prime Minister claimed to be “very offended” by a reference to housewives and ironing, and chastised the Opposition Leader for “now looking at his watch because apparently a woman’s spoken too long”, she helped create a “gotcha” environment that has now enveloped her partner. To make matters worse, her government is pursuing an extension of anti-discrimination laws that in many circumstances will criminalise words that “insult or offend”.
Under those laws, Mathieson could be sued by people who merely took offence at his remarks about female Asian doctors. Two Asian callers to my 2GB show with Steve Price last night said they were indeed offended. Defamation lawyer Justin Quill confirmed this established a prima-facie case that Mathieson would then have to defend, with the onus now on him to prove innocence.
So the questions for Gillard are these: does she admit her proposed laws would make what Mathieson said potentially unlawful? Does she agree that this demonstrates her laws are dangerously broad?
How will she change them so that her boyfriend - and no other Australian - need not fear being dragged to court for saying something so harmless?
UPDATE
Mathieson sure knows how to enjoy the perks of his girlfriend’s office:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...a-car-park-drama/story-e6freuy9-1226564560816