Scott Morrison weighs in on ‘woman’ question amid crazy debate

Scott Morrison and Dom Perrottet have been asked what seems like a simple question, but one Australia’s top health bureaucrat refused to answer.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been asked to define what a woman is after Australia’s top health bureaucrat would not give a single definition when asked during Senate Estimates this week.

“A member of the female sex,” Mr Morrison told Tom Elliott on 3AW on Friday morning, adding that it was not a difficult question and “pretty straightforward”.

NSW Premier Dom Perrottet was also asked on morning radio and said the “obvious answer” was “a female adult human being”.

“We live in a pretty strange world. It’s a pretty obvious question which requires a pretty obvious answer,” he told Ben Fordham on 2GB.

The same sentiment was not held by Health Secretary Brendan Murphy, which is what triggered the questioning of other leaders.

Dr Brendan Murphy asked to take the question about the definition of ‘woman’ on notice.

Liberal Senator Alex Antic requested a definition in Senate Estimates on Wednesday from the health department.

Dr Murphy said there were a variety of definitions and when Senator Antic requested “just a simple one”, Dr Murphy said he would take the question on notice given it was “a very contested space at the moment”.

“I mean there are obviously biological definitions but there are definitions in terms of how people identify themselves, so we’re happy to provide our working definition on notice,” Dr Murphy said.

Senator Antic said the response was “hilarious” and again posed the question to representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday.

Liberal Senator Alex Antic was accused by some social media users for asking a ‘gotcha’ style question to prove a point.

The strange line of questioning appears to have been copied from a similar scenario in the United States that made headlines and gained viral social media attention.

Last month, Supreme Court nominee Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked during her confirmation hearing to define the word woman.

Justice Jackson said she could not provide a definition because she was not a biologist.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, who had asked the question, said: “The fact that you can’t give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about.”

Justice Jackson was confirmed to US Supreme Court on Thursday, making her the first black woman to be confirmed to the nation’s highest court.

The question has emerged in Australian politics after Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked to define the word in the US, triggering huge debate. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Just like in America, the line of questioning in Australia has sparked outrage – with criticism for those not answering the question and also for those asking the “gotcha” question in the first place.

“This is a f***ed up question,” one Twitter user wrote on Friday, saying there was more important questions Mr Morrison needed to be asked.

“We don’t need to import this tedious culture wars crap to Australia. Trans people are not gotcha opportunities. There are lots of real issues going on in Australia right now, such as climate change and cost of living pressures. Start there,” one woman wrote in response to Mr Perrottet’s answer.

Another added: “Can we not bring that American style bulls*** here? Thanks.”

Tom Elliott on 3AW asks Prime Minister Scott Morrison if he can define what a woman is.

"A member of the female sex," he says. "I think that is pretty straightforward."

— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) April 7, 2022

“We know that a woman is anyone that says they are a woman. It’s honestly that simple, it’s conservatives that keep trying to pin down what a woman is,” one man pointed out.

“These constant identity politics from those asking ‘What is a woman?’ are getting wearisome,” said another.

.@BenFordham - "Do you know what 'a woman' is?"

.@Dom_Perrottet - "Yes. A female adult human being."

— Ben Fordham Live (@BenFordhamLive) April 7, 2022

Others were more outraged the original question in Senate Estimates wasn’t answered.

“Political wokeness has emerged at all levels,” wrote one social media user.

“Time to buy a dictionary,” another quipped.

“Stupid question let’s face it but it’s a simple answer even in today’s woke world,” said another.

Sky News host Rita Panahi slammed Dr Murphy for what she called a “dumbfounded” response to a simple question “a child could answer”.

“These people have no qualms about imposing draconian restrictions like closing Australia’s borders, even to Australian citizens, to prevent the spread of a virus, but they are too scared to tell you what a woman is,” Panahi said on her Wednesday show.

Last month, Labor leader Anthony Albanese came under fire for saying men can’t have babies.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, where he declared his party was not for the woke left, he also answered a round of rapid-fire questions. One of those questions was “can men have babies?” to which Mr Albanese responded “no”.

Some social media users suggested his answer was transphobic and questioned why he didn’t respond “yes” to acknowledge transgender males who give birth.