Nicolle Flint takes out the trash

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint stripped down to a literal garbage bag in protest against comments made by an ABC radio host.

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint. Picture: John Feder

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint isn’t afraid of trash talk. The South Australian stripped down to a literal garbage bag on Monday, in protest against comments made about her appearance by ABC radio host Peter Goers.

In his Sunday Mail column, Goers wrote: “Nicolle wears pearl earrings and a pearly smile. She favours a vast wardrobe of blazers, coats and tight, black, ankle-freezing trousers and stiletto heels. She presents herself in her own newsletter, 23 times as a fashion plate. She has blazers and coats in black, blue, pink, red, beige, green, white, cream, floral and two in grey.”

Flint isn’t a stranger to sexist attacks. Last year police charged a man with stalking her and “prostitute” was graffitied on her campaign office.

She decided to respond via video, calling for women in public life to be judged on what they stand for (not what they wear).

“Mr Goers, what I want to know is what should a woman in politics wear? How about a garbage bag to match your garbage views,” Flint asks, as she strips off a black coat to reveal a black garbage bag (with belt) underneath.

Five stars.

Sick of sexist garbage?

I am, which is why I’m calling out @abcadelaide’s Peter Goers rubbish views about my appearance, published in yesterday's @theTiser Sunday Mail.

It’s time women in public life are judged on what they stand for, not what they look like. #GarbagelikeGoers pic.twitter.com/tk9DRyM0nN

— Nicolle Flint MP (@NicolleFlint) July 27, 2020

Couldn’t be any cornea

It’s a positively COVID dilemma — how to tell the mood of the masked masses. Are they quietly coping? Or about to lash out in a hardware store?

(Which, incidentally, Strewth’s tradie correspondent suggests could be blamed on sausage sizzles returning around the country everywhere bar Victoria, where there’s no $2.50 bangers in bread outside stores to placate punters.)

Thankfully, London start-up Uncrowd has created a chart that identif-eyes 32 upper face moods, enabling retail staff to diagnose and pre-empt any potential spectacles (problematic people WA Premier Mark McGowan calls “dropkicks”).

The new normal moods include queue-jumped, WTF, in a hurry, aghast, a bit bored and pity.

But tragically not Karen from Bunnings.

The eyes have it.

Karen name shame

The Strewth complaint line (located at the bottom of this column) has been running hot with Karens defending their honour in the face of recent meme mockery.

For the uninitiated, “Karen” is the next incarnation of “OK Boomer”; a catch-all cry for “a woman perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate”, according to Wikipedia.

The Karens join a long line of name negging, including Nigel no friends, Debbie downers, lazy Susans, bloody Marys, calamity Janes, chatty Cathys, cool hand Lukes, thin Lizzys, curious Georges and doubting Thomases.

Thoughts and prayers to any Scott Nevilles (s’got no mates and never will).

Bunnings' new ad is on point #covidiots #bunnings #karenfrombunnings pic.twitter.com/XkgdgCHODM

— Social Kris-tancing (@DesignedToFade) July 26, 2020

Advice worth the fee

Some unsolicited advice via Taranga Chawla on Twitter: “I have law degree from the University of Melbourne. If you or a loved one has been refused entry to a private business for not wearing a mask and you would like to explore legal options to protect your constitutional rights, I am happy to explain just how stupid you are.”

The stupid law

Watch your back Gladys! (And Annastacia and Michael and Mark and Steven and Andrew and Daniel and Peter.)

The odd couple of federal politics — Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon and Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce — have put a target on every state and territory leader across the country.

Appearing in their coveted pre-7am Monday timeslot on Sunrise, the pair waxed lyrical about federalism.

“I‘ve long been an advocate for the abolition of the states you might know, Kochie,” Fitz declared.

“I hate to say it, I agree with Joel,” Joyce chimed in. “The role of the states, I don‘t know if they’re as relevant as they are in 2020s as they were 1901 and we really should at some stage have a serious discussion about that.”

Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle redundant?

Joyce continued Nat-tering: “The federal resources can only be deployed at the invitation of the states … and I hope there’s no sort of, you know, unreasonable pride held by (Daniel) Andrews. If it’s obviously beyond his control, he’s got to do something about it. And that was a total debacle what happened, just like the Ruby Princess.”

But who would Barnaby blame for the worsening Dandemic if the feds took charge?

As Fitz later remarked, albeit about Karen from Bunnings: “One thing that’s been reinforced in my mind in my many years in Australian politics is that you can’t legislate against stupidity.”

There are calls for the Federal Government to take over Victoria's COVID-19 response and for future outbreaks to be managed by the Commonwealth rather than individual states.

Federal MPs @Barnaby_Joyce and @Fitzhunter joined Kochie and Nat to discuss. pic.twitter.com/fbkjMUu79K

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) July 26, 2020

All in this together

No one’s talking NSW down (or back under the economic doona) on Dominic Perrottet’s watch.

“In Canberra, they come up with more prime ministers than policy ideas,” the NSW Treasurer remarked. “If we were actually fair dinkum about making change (to the GST) we would be working together.”

Down with the ship

Australia’s most popular premier (Mark McGowan, according to Newspoll — so BYO grain of salt) thinks Clive Palmer is a “menace to Australia”.

The mining magnate behind the unsinkable Titanic Two (dubbed thus because he can’t seem to get the project off the ground) claims COVID-19 is a media beat-up and the risk to most people negligible.

“Mr Palmer is actually someone in a high-risk category,” Mark McGowan ironically added about the 66-year-old former federal politician. “We’re trying to save people like him’s (sic) lives.”

We think that ship may have already sailed, Marky Mark.

Full steam ahead!

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