Jackie O sticks up for Lisa Wilkinson after Mark Latham’s spray in parliament

Radio star Jackie O has leapt to Lisa Wilkinson’s defence following a brutal spray against her from Mark Latham in the NSW parliament.

3 min read

November 11, 2021 - 3:46PM

'Complete lie' Lisa Wilkinson address her Today exit (RN Breakfast)

Radio host Jackie O has leapt to the defence of Lisa Wilkinson after she copped a spray from politician Mark Latham over her gender pay gap claims.

On Wednesday Mr Latham, the NSW leader of One Nation, took an extraordinary swipe at Wilkinson in the state’s parliament, claiming she had “always been about the money” and couldn’t get out of Western Sydney “fast enough”.

Speaking under parliamentary privilege, he claimed the broadcaster was “reinventing herself as a victim of the gender pay gap at Channel 9”.

“Recently one of Wilkinson’s old classmates contacted me to say, ‘That’s Lisa, it’s always been about the money,’” the former federal Labor opposition leader said.

“We went to Campbelltown High together and she couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”

“She’s always been as tight as all get out, it’s always about the money and the victimhood,” Mr Latham said her schoolmate claimed.

Mr Latham’s comments came during the Private Members’ Statements part of the day, where sitting MPs can make statements on “matters that concern their electorates or are of local significance”.

Members are also able to address issues other than local ones, provided that they directly affect constituents.

Mr Latham introduced his claims about Wilkinson as a discussion around the gender pay gap. However, he did not address pay inequality any further in his comments.

Mark Latham pictured in NSW parliament in Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

Speaking on her morning radio show today, Jackie O defended Wilkinson from Mr Latham’s public attack.

“Someone saying she ‘couldn’t get out of Campbelltown fast enough,’ that’s nasty. You don’t know. It’s just gossiping,” she said.

She also dismissed other elements of Mr Latham’s remarks, saying “big deal” and “who cares”.

News.com.au reported on Equal Pay Day that the gender pay gap widened by 0.8 per cent during the six months from February 2021 to August 2021.

The data, gathered from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and released by Workplace Gender Equality Agency, has calculated the national gender pay gap stands at 14.2 per cent for full-time employees. This equals a difference of $261.50 per week between women and men.

Radio host Jackie O.

Former Labor leader Mark Latham.

It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This by Lisa Wilkinson

Wilkinson claims in her new book It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This that Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic was offered a five-year deal with Nine worth at least $2 million per year, while she was being offered about $780,000 a year, and her deal was only for two years.

She said the pay disparity between them was “so off the charts that no-one would have believed it.”

However, news.com.au reported that Wilkinson was actually paid double Stefanovic’s salary for “many years” after the pair first teamed up in 2006.

Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson’s first photo shoot together in May 2007.

In parliament, Mr Latham slammed Wilkinson for having “a PhD in victimology” and said she had “played the victim card” while promoting her book.

He referred to an Instagram post Wilkinson uploaded where she said the writing process for her book often saw her looking “puffy” with “mascara-stained eyes after hours of tears”.

In the photo with her son Jack, Wilkinson is seen working away at her book.

“Boo hoo for her first world problems,” Mr Latham said.

“Posting a picture from her Mosman mansion, with smudged mascara, feigning distress, while also carefully – in a classic product placement – posing with copies of Mr Wilkinson’s ghostwritten books in front of her.”

Mr Latham also took aim of Wilkinson’s tenure as editor of Dolly and Cleo magazines during her 20s.

“There’s never any mention of the plight of migrant women or poorly-paid factory jobs or sweatshops, there’s never any mention of the Indigenous women having the life beaten out of them in country NSW hellholes,” he said.

“If this is feminism then God help the women of the world.”