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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-11-29 Daily Xml
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White Ribbon Campaign

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:29): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the Minister for Environment on the subject of White Ribbon.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: On 12 November 2008, a member in this chamber said the following words, and I quote:

We all know it is unacceptable, but we must be more vocal in expressing our disgust about the actions of men who use intimidation, violence and control in their relationships with their wives and partners, mothers, sisters and friends. We must make sure that these men are completely aware of how unacceptable we think their behaviour is, because on some level these men are of the belief that what they are doing is okay and it is somehow acceptable to use their brute force to dominate the women in their life.

Then further on this member said:

Make no mistake: in no instance at all is any form of violence acceptable. It is abhorrent that violence is so normalised, and we must recognise that it is normalised through popular song lyrics, through casual jokes, and through language that reduces the woman's part in sexual intercourse to that of an orifice only. Men demean women and in doing so devalue them, which, so the warped logic goes, makes violence against women okay.

That statement was made in a question from the Hon. Mr Hunter back in 2008. My questions to the minister are:

1. In your own words, do you now accept, with your violent, abusive behaviour in Rigoni's restaurant, that you are part of the problem the White Ribbon organisation is trying to address?

2. Do you also accept now that your own actions reveal that you are nothing more than a contemptible hypocrite on this issue?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:31): I have repeated on many occasions that I am absolutely apologetic about the language that I used and the situation in which it occurred. I made that very plain and I absolutely apologise once again, but the hypocrisy in this place from the Hon. Mr Lucas in raising this issue is beyond fathoming. I think it is important that all of us remember that the ideals that the White Ribbon organisation tries to advance in society are important ones and that we in our daily behaviour should adhere to that and, again, I just simply apologise for my behaviour.

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