Jeff Kennett apologises for derogatory jibe at woman

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett says he regrets calling a woman a “bitch” who spoke throughout his speech to a Young Liberals function on Saturday night.

Reported on Sunday morning as having called the woman “a rude little bitch”, Kennett said this was not accurate. “I just said ‘bitch’. I regret making the comment obviously,” he told this masthead on Sunday morning. “I spoke at about 9pm which might be a bit late to address a Young Liberal function.”

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett making a speech in 2019 in his then role as Hawthorn Football Club president.Credit: Getty Images

The event was the Young Liberal Annual Gala, held at the Melbourne Arts Centre from 6.30pm on Saturday.

One Liberal Party member who was at the event said while there had been a lot of talking over Kennett’s speech, it wasn’t just the table where the woman was sitting. “She is as quiet as a church mouse, so it wasn’t just her talking – she was just the one immediately in Jeff’s line of sight.”

On Sunday, Kennett said: “On a number of occasions, I asked them to be more respectful, and they just kept talking, and I found that very, very distracting and that led me to pause and then utter that word.”

Kennett said he had reached out to the woman to apologise on Sunday about his comments the night before.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto says Kennett had apologised “profusely” for his offensive remark. Credit: Joe Armao

“To be fair to her, she wasn’t speaking to me [or] criticising anything I was saying. She was just ignoring me and having her own conversation and [talking loudly] obviously because I heard her throughout most of my speech, and in the end I was just so frustrated,” he said.

“If I could have pushed the word back into my mouth, I probably would have done it. But once you say these things, you’ve got to either accept them or apologise. I know my comment offended a lot of people – not all, but a lot – and so I have been trying to contact her since last night.”

The Liberal MP for Sandringham, Brad Rowswell, who confirmed he attended the function, said Kennett had been invited to address the event because he was “deeply respected for his achievements as a former premier”.

“I hope that Mr Kennett’s unreserved apology will in some small way assist in the healing process for the young woman he targeted,” Rowswell said.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto said it was appropriate that Kennett had apologised “profusely” for his remark.

“Clearly, the comments weren’t acceptable and Jeff understands that and that’s why he’s issued that apology this morning,” he said.

Pesutto said he had not spoken to the woman about Kennett’s jibe.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan lambasted Kennett’s comments, saying they showed the Liberal Party had a problem with showing the appropriate way to respect women within the party and across the Victorian community.

With Clay Lucas

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