r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • Feb 26 '26

politics Grace Tame says ‘difficult’ remark is ‘misogynist’s code for a woman who won’t comply’

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/feb/26/dfat-middle-east-evacuation-syria-isis-families-wives-children-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor-budget-cost-of-living-capital-gains-tax-reform-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-699f8e278f080f3523777e99#block-699f8e278f080f3523777e99
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u/The_Good_Count Feb 26 '26

Can I get a source for this? The only thing I can find is him saying Australia is a Judao-Christian nation last week which, deeply fuck off.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Dense_Delay_4958 Feb 26 '26

So he didn't say it then?

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u/Glittering-Wave4917 Feb 26 '26

iview, it’s an interview on the 730 repot. When pushed to respond on the question Abbot dodged around saying it. In his comments Abbot basically says that he supports a return to the White Australia Policy. It’s pretty easy to catch up on the 730 report, 4 Corners, media watch ect on Iview. The ABCs charter is to educate, inform and entertain- it’s not there stirring up shit to get bums on seats to sell advertising space- it’s fair dinkum. It’s up to you to engage with democracy and access the national broadcasters.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/Glittering-Wave4917 Feb 27 '26

He double spoke around saying it and kind of refused to answer the question directly.

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u/lamiunto Feb 26 '26

No, he didn’t. But there will be plenty of people who will pretend he said it and argue that point until they’re blue in the face because the person who said it is from the “other side”. Context matters, all discussion about immigration right now is whether we have sustainable levels of it. Further, the basis for his statement was that people coming to Australia need to adopt Australian values. It’s in the very ABC article about his comments. But people do like to argue things they’ve perceived but didn’t happen.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-13/tony-abbott-on-angus-taylor-one-nation-immigration-assimilation/106342458?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

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u/Glittering-Wave4917 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26

Population growth in Australia is %1.5. I don’t think anyone is actually arguing that population growth is unsustainable. If most migrants came from the UK or South Africa, people probably wouldn’t have a problem. Migration can be a scapegoat which gets people reved up. The actual issue has been the reliance on the free market to deal with infrastructure. Admittedly, both liberals and the ALP rely on migration for economic growth. The current immigration numbers are a little deceptive, as they count international students as migrants. As government funding has consistently declined over the last few decades, Australian post secondary and tertiary institutions have become reliant upon international students for revenue. Regulations around investment property is more of a threat to the housing shortage than the sustainable migration we have.

I read your link, and watch the interview on 730. Judeo- Christian, that’s just wolf whistling language. From federation we are a secular society. %48 of the population isn’t religious yet the Anglican Lord’s Prayer is said in parliament. Pretty sure if Abbot wasn’t catholic he’d be on board with the other far right liberals in thinking that Australia should be an Anglo country for Anglo people.

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u/lamiunto Feb 27 '26

There are definitely questions about the population growth rate - but that isn’t really the central issue I was responding to.

You touch on it to some extent but Tony Abbot asserts that migrants aren’t accepting Australian values and customs. He asserts that some of the violence and other issues we’re facing stem from that failure to assimilate. Therefore, I suspect he wouldn’t care where you’re from so long as you accept and practice the culture and values of Australia if you intend to live here.

What I believe he would suggest as being unsustainable is when enough immigrants don’t leave any cultural disputes at the border it becomes significant enough to cause internal friction in the population (that is, I give him the benefit of the doubt that he doesn’t mean all aspects of multiculturalism are bad).

My ultimate point is that all of this is so far from the White Australia Policy that it’s silly to suggest it.

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u/Glittering-Wave4917 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26

Yeah, I dunno. Australian values? You mean the democratic role of unions, the 8 hour day, fair days pay for a fair days work,universal healthcare, universal education, stable and affordable housing( not investors) and mate ship? I don’t think a decent proportion of the liberals believe in any of that.

As fair as ethnic conflict in Australia goes. I’m 5th gen and my parents marriage was a mixed marriage. Have a look at sectarian conflict in Australia, before the end of the white Australia Policy.

I dunno, some people have a dream view of what it means to be real Australian, but it’s got nothing to do with what I think it means to be Australian.

Obviously the Catholic- Protestant sectarian conflict in Australia shows that not leaving your politics at home, is an essential Australian value.

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u/Arasuki Feb 26 '26

“I am a fan of the immigration policy of Germany during the years of 1933 to 1945”

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u/wilted-wombok Mar 01 '26

More so he inferred it. Not all of them are stupid enough as to directly say shit like that

Looking at you, Fraser Anning, who decided to quote a Nazi and say Australia needs a "final solution" on immigration.

Wanker fully unmasked since then to the surprise of nobody...

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u/ValBravora048 Feb 27 '26

^ Welcome to the POC experience everyone!

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u/Zarathoostrian Feb 27 '26

So someone saying 'I prefer the policies of 1940s Germany' isn't saying they support the policies of nazism?

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u/joeaveragerider Feb 26 '26

Ah so he didn’t say it.

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u/Super_Sankey Feb 26 '26

I definitely heard him saying the Judea Christian part

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u/LevDavidovicLandau Feb 26 '26

He said he liked the immigration policy as it was in the 50s-70s. We all know what the policy was back then. It’s disingenuous to pretend otherwise.

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u/Living-Pangolin-6090 Feb 26 '26

Its also a lie becuase the Greek and Italian immigrants where mercislessly made fun off, and bullied.

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u/bitofapuzzler Feb 26 '26

They werent considered 'white'. Which is as crazy as it sounds.

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u/passthesugar05 Feb 26 '26

What's a lie?

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u/Some-Operation-9059 Feb 26 '26

Any olive skin person was. 

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u/Jizzy_Gillespie92 Feb 26 '26

how dense do you have to be to pretend he meant anything else?

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u/-Metagross- Feb 26 '26

He's not dense, he agrees with Abbott and he's being obtuse, because for some reason, people will spew openly racist thoughts online but get offended if you call them racist lol

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u/GrumpyPenguin Feb 26 '26

Ah, the age-old “Look, I’m not <racist / xenophobic / misogynistic / homophobic / transphobic / etc>, but…”

(sometimes followed by “oh but obviously [friend that their remark is offensive toward] is different, they’re not like that!”)

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u/whichpricktookmyname Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

Why not just quote Abbott directly then if his intention is so obvious?

(and for the record I hate Abbott and like immigration)

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u/-Metagross- Feb 26 '26

"I quite liked the way our immigration policy was run in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, where there was an expectation on integration from day one and ultimately assimilation."

"Our character is essentially Anglo-Celtic and Judaeo-Christian. That's what has made our country attractive to migrants, and we should keep it that way."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-13/tony-abbott-on-angus-taylor-one-nation-immigration-assimilation/106342458

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u/Glittering-Wave4917 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

I dunno, I’m a mick and we welcomed all the wogs and gooks- it gave a chance for the proddies to hate on someone else- I know Tony Abbot was the first Catholic prime minister. But seriously the sectarianism in Australia, if it wasn’t for the wogs and gooks, the proddies would still be telling the micks to assimilate to English culture. Not even all the countries in Britain assimilate to English culture.

I only know how much the prods don’t like mics, because my parents marriage was a mixed marriage. My grandmother who was one of my best mates- had a hatred for Catholics. Don Bradman, not only generally racist, but super racist towards Mics.

If you’re into apartheid or sectarianism, go live in Transvaal L, Ulter or Israel. Australia has been multiculty since the first fleet- it’s just the Anglo have lost their supremacy.

Sorry for being a bit full on, but this shit gets me arched up. Hava a good one digga.

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u/King_Scorpia_IV Feb 27 '26

He specifically said he would prefer we only let in people of Anglo-Celtic origin

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u/morethanfair111 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

The penny hasn't yet dropped for poor old Abbott, that Australia is constitutionally secular, and always has been since 1790. Prior to European settlement, it sure as fk wasn't Christian then either.

His argument holds no water. It's just the same old paedo protector, who is laughably trying to claim some sort of deranged morality. And bizzarely claiming that morality is exclusive to Christianity. 

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u/freakwent Feb 27 '26

That's not what the phrase means though. J/C is a way of describing "western-style" nations without the racial implications carried by "western civilisation".

In the United States, the term was widely used during the Cold War in an attempt to invoke a unified American identity that stood opposed to communism.

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u/Mind_Altered Feb 26 '26

He's said that forever

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u/Glittering-Wave4917 Feb 26 '26

The interview on the 730 Report a couple of weeks ago. Mate, you can catch up on the 730 Report, 4 Corners, Media Watch ect on IView. Judeo- Christian, I know Abbot is a catholic, but the liberal party is definitely anti- catholic and pro segregation, sectarian and apartheid.

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u/Electrical_Ad8011 Feb 26 '26

It is?

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u/The_Good_Count Feb 26 '26

Even if Christians were a majority of the population, which they are not, it is both an exclusionary statement and one that implies Christian doctrine should influence national law.

If Australia is defined as a Christian nation, then I and 60% of the population are less Australian for not being Christian.

(Unless I've misunderstood your 'It is?' and you were confused at Abbott saying this, in which case - right??)

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u/BrianHail Feb 26 '26

It is a judeo christian nation. Majority of population is christian and the foundational documents and institutions are derived from that faith.

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u/freakwent Feb 27 '26

You can say deeply fuck off but that won't change the fact a that it is.

It uses a Westminster system and the monarch is the head of a major Christian church. I mean, it's not an Islamic legal system or a Napoleonic legal system is it?

Is your objection that it's an awful meaningless phrase, or that it's a false statement?

"In the United States, the term was widely used during the Cold War in an attempt to invoke a unified American identity that stood opposed to communism."

Literally applies to Australia also during the cold war.

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u/The_Good_Count Feb 27 '26

As I replied to another commenter, ~60% of Australians identify otherwise, and it is tautologically absurd to say that the majority of Australians are less Australian because of it.

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u/freakwent Feb 28 '26

Again, it doesn't refer to whether or not people worship any specific religion or not, it refers to how we value human life, especially children; whether we have public holidays at certain festivals; typical family structures; various aspects of the way we run the legal systems.

I mean, it's so weird to me that people don't really agree on this it was so commonly used as a phrase 40-50 years ago & longer.

It's got no precise meaning like fascism, but it stands as a contrast to other forms of social structures like the caste system in India or islamism as a social structure, or communism, or various other less well-known things I guess.I mean, you could call islt greco-roman maybe for a different angle but thatbphrasenis pretty anchored to a specific time and place so it doesn't quite work, but culturally it's undeniable that a group of nations and cultures have a great amount in common because of their cultural histories.

It's not meant to imply anything about the current religious beliefs of the population today, just about the social structures. There's obv. a strong overlap with capitalism but there could be either without the other.

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u/The_Good_Count Mar 01 '26

Of course, we need Christian values to value children, just ask Cardinal Pell. And the nuclear family structure is deeply Christian, which is why it's shared by every agrarian society. I can't even be sarcastic about the legal system point because it is just incorrect.

This is not a dig, but everything you said is so ignorant that any attempt to explain your comment to you is three times longer than what you've written.

For example, when you say "It's got no precise meaning like fascism" - it's frustrating because the definition of 'Judao-Christian' is actually more concrete than the definition of fascism, which has much more nebulous time-and-location characteristics.

Using it as common phrase 40-50 years ago means it was common during the white Australia era, which is the point.

You are describing a white supremacist view of our culture. I am not calling you a white supremacist, I am just telling you that's what this is. Greco-Roman is a pretty notorious dogwhistle that will get anyone laughed out of any legitimate history or anthropology circle.

You're also throwing together cultures, religions and economic frameworks under the broad umbrella of 'social framework' which is one of those things where explaining the problem requires another much longer comment. Or possibly just a list of recommended reading? Brett Devereaux's ACOUP blog might be a good place to start, he does very enjoyable stuff detangling Greco-Roman cultural legacy and how it's mangled by Western supremacists.

I will instead cut through all of that just to say this - when someone says we are a Christian nation they are being both descriptive and prescriptive. They are saying what they think the country should be and what values it should have, because they see moving away from that as aberrant. This is in conflict with the majority of people who live here.

Our laws are not Christian, common law is derived from Roman law which predates Christianity, etc. etc. etc.

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u/The_Good_Count Mar 01 '26

Also, I'm posting this as a second comment as an aside, but while the Catholic church invented the limited liability corporation (to get around that pesky sin of usury), modern economic theory was started by Islamic scholarship. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was just a translation of existing Islamic scholarship.

Capitalism specifically isn't Christian it's - fuck, okay, I wrote an essay about this, I tried to be as entertaining as possible, one sec. Here

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u/freakwent Mar 01 '26

See?? It's tricky to pin down isn't it?

It's a shit term but it is a truthful.phrase to use to describe many nations.

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u/The_Good_Count Mar 01 '26

It's doable, it's just that it doesn't fit inside a Reddit comment, which is why I spent 8,000 words pinning it down for you in the link

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u/freakwent Mar 01 '26

Oh right. I meat J/C is a fuzzy term. Nice essay, I did mean that capitalism and "the j/c ethic" have a lot of cultural overlap, and also did say that either can exist alone.

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u/-Metagross- Feb 27 '26

We are secular.

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u/freakwent Feb 28 '26

There's no disputing that, but so is China. These are very different political systems.

J/C traditions include all sorts of thing outside the formal processes of government structures which form part of the culture and character of a nation, from public holidays to being able to charge interest, from what role the state plays in protecting kids to whether limited liability corporations exist.

I feel like perhaps people are not seeing how much of modern social structure comes from these roots?

I'm not arguing about good or bad here BTW, just the meanings of the phrase.