‘I’ll get beeped’: Julie Gillard’s cheeky moment while recalling famous misogyny speech

Former prime minister Julia Gillard chose her words carefully while revealing something new about one of her most famous moments.

It was the speech that made waves around the world.

On October 9, 2012, then-prime minister Julia Gillard had decided enough was enough. After enduring two years of countless sexist slurs and smears in silence – she spoke out.

She seized the moment when then-opposition leader Tony Abbott had tried to make political headway over the sexual harassment allegation against the speaker, Peter Slipper (the case was later dismissed).

Over the next several minutes, Ms Gillard ripped into Mr Abbott.

“I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, I will not,” she said.

“If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia he doesn’t need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror.

“The leader of the opposition should think seriously about the role of women in public life and in Australian society because we are entitled to a better standard than this.”

Her speech became a “battle anthem” for women fighting to make their way in the workplace, and so famous it was turned into music, tattoos, and many TikToks.

Ms Gillard has now written a book titled Not Now, Not Ever, about the speech and what more needs to be done to end misogyny. In the process of writing it came a revelation.

It's been 10 years since then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard's misogyny-blasting speech made waves around the world. @JuliaGillard joins us to tell us what's changed since then and what more needs to be done in politics. #TheProjectTVpic.twitter.com/7LomRPxY1u

— The Project (@theprojecttv) October 9, 2022

“It almost never happened,” Ms Gillard told The Project on Sunday night about the speech.

“I always thought that I’d remembered every moment of that day because it was obviously a big one and I’d been asked about it so many times.

Julia Gillard told Lisa Wilkinson how her speech almost didn’t happen. Picture: Channel 10

“But when I was putting the Not Now, Not Ever book together I consulted my then chief of staff Ben Hubbard who reminded me that when Tony Abbott leapt to his feet to speak to the motion I wandered over to the adviser’s box and said to Ben and the other advisers there, ‘I’m going to take the reply’ and they said, ‘Oh really are you going to do that?’

“Because normally I kind of held myself above these day to day political tactics and I sort of thought about it, considered not doing it and then decided I would because I was sick of all the ... I will use the word nonsense. All the nonsense.”

“use the real word,” one of the show’s hosts interjected.

“I will get beeped. I don’t want to get beeped on TV,” Ms Gillard joked.

The “nonsense”, as she put it, included such comments as those made about her by radio broadcaster Alan Jones that “her father died of shame” and she “should be put in a chaff bag and thrown into sea”.

Julia Gillard's speech made headlines. Picture: Channel 10

So what has changed in Australia in terms of misogyny since her speech?

“I think what we are doing better is naming and shaming when we see sexism and misogyny,” she said.

“I think it’s impossible to imagine that a woman in parliament could be called the things I was without there being an uproar and political consequences.

“I think women’s voices, women’s issues are much more shaping of federal politics.”

However, she said violence against women and gender barriers in careers are still issues we need to deal with.

Julia Gillard with Anthony Albanese in May. Picture: Wendell Teodoro/AFP

Gillard says we still have work to do in improving how women are treated. Picture: Tolga Akmen-WPA Pool/Getty Images