‘A sexist man': Catley slams Speakman after he calls her ‘hysterical'
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has labelled Opposition Leader Mark Speakman a 'sexist man' after he described her as 'hysterical' on the same day he slammed a Victorian Liberal elder for claiming women in the party were 'sufficiently assertive'.
In question time on Thursday, Catley seized on the comments made by Speakman at a press conference a day earlier, in which he described her has being 'out of her depth' and giving 'hysterical' answers in parliament.
'Yesterday the leader of the opposition got up after question time and called me hysterical, not once, but twice,' Catley said.
'If a man came in here with a strong view about you deliberately bagging the cops and trying to deliberately confuse the public about who is responsible for cracking down on illicit tobacco, would you have used that language? No. It's a sexist word used by a sexist man.'
The remarks were part of Speakman's opening statement at a press conference after Wednesday's question time, as the debate over who should take responsibility for a ballooning tobacco black market continued.
'I asked a very simple question in question time whether a task force was going to be expanded to cover illegal tobacco,' Speakman said at the press conference.
'I got no answer from the police minister, but instead a hysterical response. This minister is clearly out of her depth, you ask a simple question, you just get a hysterical, screaming answer that never engages.'
Later that day, the opposition leader took aim at former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale for his controversial claim that reverse quotas for men could be needed in the Liberal Party.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
'I am premier': Jeremy Rockliff defends not standing down from Tasmania's top job
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is asked by journalists why he's pursuing an election rather than standing down as Liberal leader
AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
Deeming sought preselection guarantee to drop Pesutto debt
Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming demanded the party guarantee her preselection in exchange for temporarily forgiving former leader John Pesutto's $2.3 million legal bill and avoiding a potential damaging byelection in his inner-city electorate. Pesutto is on the brink of bankruptcy unless he can find another $1.5 million to repay his colleague's court-ordered legal fees within two weeks following her successful defamation case against him. If he is declared bankrupt, he will need to resign as a member of parliament.
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Tasmanian Premier remains defiant, as forces within Liberal Party consider rolling Jeremy Rockliff as leader whilst Governor mulls calling early election
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has continued to stand firm, despite facing considerable pressure to resign as various Liberal members weigh up a leadership tilt. Mr Rockliff visited Tasmanian Governor Barbara Baker on Tuesday night to request an early election after a no-confidence vote against him passed the house last week, however he failed to convince her to send the state to its second poll in as little as 15 months. The Governor revealed Tasmanians will have to wait until the end of the week to learn how the state's political crisis will be resolved Her office confirmed Ms Baker was "taking the time necessary to give due consideration to all available options'. Mr Rockliff, who defied convention by not resigning after the no-confidence vote said he respected the need for the Governor to take the "appropriate time to consider important matters of state". "I remain committed to serving the people of Tasmania," he said in a statement. In a major development to the political crisis, a growing movement has emerged within the Tasmanian Liberal Party to roll Mr Rockliff as Premier, with Labor claiming that seven members of the caucus are lobbying for a change in leadership. This would mean that Mr Rockliff is just two votes away from being toppled. It is understood that former federal politicians turned state MPs Eric Abetz and Michael Ferguson, in addition to deputy Premier Guy Barnett are angling for the top job. Mr Abetz is widely believed to be the top contender for the role, although does not yet possess a majority of the numbers needed to clinch the leadership. However, fronting the media on Wednesday Mr Rockliff vehemently rejected accusations that his Premiership was under threat, and stated he had the full backing of his colleagues. 'I have the support of my party room. I was elected by the Tasmanian people,' he said. 'We are delivering for Tasmanians, and I want to continue to deliver, as I said yesterday, respecting Her Excellency's deliberations in terms of matters of state". Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma, who stood alongside Mr Rockliff reiterated that the Premier had the resounding support of the Liberal partyroom and denied that anyone was doing the numbers against him. 'Definitely. The Premier is a fantastic leader in our party and he has 100 per cent support of the whole PLP,' she said. Speaking to Sky News AM Agenda, manager of opposition business Shane Broad encouraged Mr Rockliff to resign and said it would have a significant impact in ending the state's political quagmire. 'I come from a farm, and I know that no matter how much you love that old sheep dog, if you can't round up the sheep anymore it's time to get a new one,' Mr Broad said. 'He should do the honourable thing and resign instead of putting his own members through the pain of having to roll him'. Mr Broad also added that the state's political woes were made worse by Mr Rockliff's refusal to resign, and that the Governor's resistance to send the state to a winter poll reflected the untenability of his leadership. 'We've got to this point because of Jeremy Rockliff and his refusal, refusal to resign,' Mr Broad told the Mercury. 'What we know is now he hasn't had his election granted, and that the members of his own party are starting to do the numbers to roll him'. The Governor can ask Mr Rockliff to step aside to allow another member of his party to become leader, commission Opposition Leader Dean Winter to form a minority government with the Greens or change her mind and ultimately permit Mr Rockliff's request for an early election. However, both leaders don't seem to be budging, with Mr Winter ruling out a coalition with the Greens last week, meaning a July poll is the most likely outcome so long as Mr Rockliff remains Premier.
