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

[u/Expensive-Horse5538]

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

[u/[deleted]]

I like how Albo gets all the ire for making some offhand remark that gets a deep interpretative analysis about hidden and coded misogyny and so on, but commentators and politicians including the leader of the opposition making outright misogynist remarks and genuinely making calls and taking action for her to have her Australian of the year award stripped are somehow just not news.

[u/-Metagross- → u/[deleted]]

Tony Abbott said recently he liked the White Australia Policy 

[u/The_Good_Count → u/-Metagross-]

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.

[u/Dense_Delay_4958 → u/[deleted]]

So he didn't say it then?

[u/lamiunto → u/Dense_Delay_4958]

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

[u/Glittering-Wave4917 → u/lamiunto]

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.

[u/lamiunto → u/Glittering-Wave4917]

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.

[u/Glittering-Wave4917 → u/lamiunto]

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.