Grace Tame unleashes on Scott Morrison over phone call investigation

Former Australian of the year Grace Tame has lashed out at Prime Minister Scott Morrison over his response to her bombshell “threatening” call claims.

Grace Tame has unleashed on Scott Morrison over the investigation into her ‘threatening’ phone call claims.

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has unleashed on Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Twitter over his response to claims she received a “threatening” call about the PM.

Yesterday the government announced it was investigating Ms Tame’s claim she received a phone call last year asking her not to say anything negative about Mr Morrison at the next Australian of the Year awards.

She made the revelation in her speech to the National Press Club, branding the call “threatening” and revealing it was made by a “senior member of a government-funded organisation”.

It appears Ms Tame is less than impressed by the government’s move to investigate her claims, saying the move “misses the point entirely”.

Stop deflecting, Scott. It’s not about the person who made the call. It’s the fact they felt like they had to do it.

— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) February 9, 2022

“Scott conducting an investigation into who made the phone call is THE VERY SAME embedded structural silencing culture that drove the call in the first place and misses the point entirely,” she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night,

“Stop deflecting, Scott. It’s not about the person who made the call. It’s the fact they felt like they had to do it.”

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s office said Mr Morrison said had no knowledge of the phone call before Ms Tame’s speech and called for the person who made it to apologise.

“The first the PM or PMO became aware of that allegation was during today’s Press Club speeches,” Mr Morrison’s office said.

“The PM has not and would not authorise such actions and at all times has sought to treat Ms Tame with dignity and respect.

“Ms Tame should always be free to speak her mind and conduct herself as she chooses. The PM has made no criticism of her statements or actions.”

Grace Tame addresses the media at the National Press Club. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The statement noted that, while Ms Tame has declined to name the individual, they should still apologise.

“Those comments were not made on behalf of the PM or PMO or with their knowledge,” the statement read.

“The PM and the government consider the actions and statements of the individual as unacceptable.”

The National Australia Day Council, which administers the Australian of the Year awards, also said it was conducting further inquiries but denied it had ever had a “threatening” conversation with Ms Tame.

“The NADC has spoken to a number of personnel who have had conversations with Ms Tame over the past year, none of whom had interactions with Ms Tame that would be considered ‘threatening’, as the 17 August conversation has been described,’’ a spokesperson said.

“The NADC has contacted Grace and her management to ask about the specifics of the conversation described at the National Press Club.”

The Council noted the Australian of the Year was an award and not a role, meaning recipients were free to use their platform in “any way they see fit”.

“The NADC has always sought to support Ms Tame throughout her tenure as Australian of the Year,” it said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office said they first heard about the phone call when Ms Tame revealed it at the National Press Club. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Grace Tame’s ‘threatening’ phone call claims

During her National Press Club speech, Ms Tame hit out at the treatment she had received by sections of the media, recounting the phone call where she was allegedly pressured her to refrain from publicly criticising Mr Morrison.

“On August 17 last year, not five months after being named Australian of the Year, I received a threatening phone call from a senior member of a government-funded organisation, asking for my word that I would not say anything damning about the Prime Minister on the evening of the next Australian of the Year Awards,” Ms Tame said.

“‘You are an influential person. He will have a fear,’ they said. What kind of fear, I asked myself. A fear for our nation’s most vulnerable? A fear for the future of our plan? And then I heard the words, ‘with an election coming soon.’

“And it crystallised. A fear for himself an no one else, a fear he might lose his position or, more to the point, his power. Sound familiar to anyone? Well it does to me.

“I remember standing in the shadow of a trusted authority figure, being threatened in just the same veiled way. I remember him saying, ‘I will lose my job if anyone hears about that, and you would not want that, would you? No.’

“What I wanted in that moment is the same thing I want right now, and that is an end to the darkness, an end to sexual violence, safety, equity, respect, a better future for all of us. A future driven by unity and truth, not one dictated under the politics of division and spin.”

The 27-year-old was later asked if she would reveal what she said back to the unnamed person, with her response being that it “doesn’t matter now, does it?”.

Another reporter asked whether she would reveal the identity of the individual or the organisation they worked for.

“I reckon if I was willing to name either, I would have put them in the speech,” she responded.