Outgoing federal government MP Nicolle Flint has broken down in tears on the floor of Parliament while describing the harassment and stalking she has endured during her time in politics, and calling for the safety of women to be "above politics".
Key points:
- Nicole Flint has criticised Labor Leader Anthony Albanese over his party's treatment of her
- Her office was vandalised with offensive words ahead of the 2019 federal election
- Ms Flint has announced she will not contest the next election
The member for the marginal South Australian electorate of Boothby last month announced she was quitting politics at the next election.
Speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening, Ms Flint criticised her political opponents, including Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and lobby group GetUp, which launched a push to unseat her during the last election.
She used a well-known phrase previously used by former prime minister Julia Gillard, as she denounced Mr Albanese for his recent comments on sexism.
"I say to the Leader of the Opposition, I will not be lectured by you, I will not be lectured by your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place," she said.
ABC News
)On Monday, the Labor leader condemned Prime Minister Scott Morrison for refusing to attend the March 4 Justice protest against gendered violence and for telling Parliament it was a triumph that protesters outside Parliament House were not "met with bullets".
But Ms Flint started to cry as she accused Mr Albanese of crawling "down into the gutter" with his criticism of the Coalition.
"The safety of women in this place, of female staff and female MPs and senators should be above politics," she said.
"The need to change the culture of our parties and of this place should be above politics."
The second-term MP has been vocal about the treatment she has faced since entering federal politics, including being targeted by a male stalker and having her campaign office defaced with graffitied words "skank" and "prostitute".
Supplied
)During her speech to Parliament, she suggested the Opposition Leader and members of his frontbench should have openly defended her during the last election campaign.
"I ask the Leader of the Opposition, where was he and where was his predecessor and where were the senior Labor women when GetUp, Labor and the union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead-up to the 2019 election?"
She started to cry again as she accused the Opposition of failing to support her.
"What I say to the Labor Party today is they may not have held the spray can to vandalise my office with sexist slurs, they may not have held the camera pointed at me by the stalker or called me evil in GetUp's phone calls, but they did create the environment in which hate could flourish," she said.
"I say to the Leader of the Opposition, this can't be about politics anymore.
"We all bear the responsibility for change."
Ms Flint's electorate is held by the Liberals on a margin of just 1.4 per cent. While she is quitting politics, she has said she will continue to campaign on issues like endometriosis and stillbirth.
Mr Albanese's office has been approached for comment.
Earlier, Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek told the House she had only recently learned of the campaigning against Ms Flint.
"When I heard that the member for Boothby was retiring, I contacted her to tell her I regret that she's leaving politics and I wish her the best," Ms Plibersek said.
"I would like to see more Liberal women in this place, not fewer."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAzLTE2L2dvdmVybm1lbnQtbXAtYnJlYWtzLWRvd24taW4tdGVhcnMtY2FsbHMtZm9yLXNhZmV0eS1vZi13b21lbi8xMzI1NDA2ONIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMzI1NDA2OA?oc=5
2021-03-16 11:25:00Z
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