In case you’ve been living in a digital black-out, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton put his foot-in-phone last week when he accidentally sent journalist Samantha Maiden a text calling her a “mad fucking witch”, instead of his intended recipient Jamie Briggs, who had just resigned as Minister following a sexual harassment complaint.
A category 10 shitstorm followed.
Although Dutton and Maiden have brushed off the matter, with the former apologising privately to the latter, not everyone is so satisfied. (PM Malcolm Turnbull has yet to make a public statement, but sources at The Australian say he’s described it in private as “completely inappropriate”.)
Acting Federal Opposition Leader Penny Wong demanded Turnbull explain Dutton’s actions, asking “why it is that Mr Dutton’s behaviour and this sort of language is consistent with the standards that are expected of ministers”.
Well, right now a group of women who are “mad about misogyny” (and boy, has 2016 ever been a year for misogyny) have had fkn enough with the Coalitions inaction, and are protesting as we speak outside Dutton’s office, demanding his resignation.
8:18am Fed Square Melbourne. Dutton must resign. #witchin pic.twitter.com/lMsRiZp3mF
— seanbedlam (@seanbedlam) January 7, 2016
Dutton must resign. #witchin
#auspol pic.twitter.com/R2Ivd8LHSq
— Van Badham (@vanbadham) January 7, 2016
8:14am Fed Square Melbourne. #witchin pic.twitter.com/UUkd4mGZyl
— seanbedlam (@seanbedlam) January 7, 2016
8:36am Fed Square Melbourne. #witchin pic.twitter.com/hqfMR3IhTg
— seanbedlam (@seanbedlam) January 7, 2016
Protester Sam Pidgeon (who, full disclosure, is a member of the Labor party) explained they were protesting because Dutton’s apology didn’t cut it, and is part of a larger issue of misogyny within Parliament.
“It’s not okay to say, ‘well, he apologised for sending the text message’,” she told Fairfax. “Sending the text message by mistake to someone isn’t the issue here. The issue is that we have a senior member of cabinet who is referring to women as mad fucking witches.”
It’s not the first time Dutton has used the witch metaphor to sledge women. In 2010 he told then health minister Nicola Roxon to “get on her broomstick”, a remark which he might have been forced to later withdraw in Parliament, but he damn sure defending on Twitter.
telling nicola to get on her broomstick is hardly “grossly unparliamentary” as joolia claimed
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) February 11, 2010
Oh, how far we’ve come in just six short years. 
But back in 2016, Peter Dutton is silent as ever. To be continued.
Source / Photos: Twitter.
