Julia Gillard’s advice for Kamala Harris
Former PM Julia Gillard has weighed into the 2020 race for the White House and Joe Biden’s pick of running mate | WATCH
Julia Gillard has weighed into the 2020 race for the White House. “It’s caught my eye that one of the first things President (Donald) Trump has said about Kamala Harris is, he’s used the word ‘nasty’,” our 27th prime minister said during her virtual sit down with Time Magazine. “I think he’s already conjuring with these sexist tropes that women who come forward, who are ambitious, and rightly ambitious, who have got the capacity to lead, who have done in the past strong things, are unlikeable.” Gillard continued: “He’s basically already wanting people to conclude (that) they won’t warm to Kamala Harris as the candidate for V-P and there’s gender baked into that.” Her advice to Joe Biden’s running mate? Find your viral misogyny speech moment.
“We’d love to be able to say you will step out into a world of gender equality, but the reality is — you won’t. You’ll step out into a world where there’s still a disproportionate focus on your appearance, a disproportionate focus on your family structures, where if you fall the wrong side of this strength and empathy tightrope, that people may conclude that you’re really unlikeable, that you’re really prickly, that you’re hard to get along with … I would say to any women aspiring for leadership, be aware these things are going to happen, and war game in advance what your response is going to be. Don’t be blindsided, don’t be caught in the moment.”
The Elephant man
Forget Kamala, how about Kamahl for vice-president? The cheeky rogues behind satirical news podcast A Rational Fear had a “phone number mix-up” and called the Manly-based singer to congratulate him. And Kamahl — born Kandiah Kamalesvaran — didn’t miss a beat. “I mean, I never, ever, ever dreamed I would be selected by Joe, even though I dated his son for a little while,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek. His platform? “If dreams could come true, I would like to erase racism and prejudice and let humanity, kindness, you know.” The 85-year-old Elephant Song entertainer (ironic, as Republicans are elephants) is a US politics obsessive and daily tweets scathing opinions about Trump’s “complete failure as a leader … a crime against humanity”. We wonder, will he croon Sounds of Goodbye come November 4?
So great of @OfficialKamahl to join us for the @ARationalFear podcast this week — Where, in lieu of Kamala Harris, he accepted the Democratic VP nomination. LISTEN HERE: https://t.co/SwukptlCmI pic.twitter.com/9ozpZ9No2g
— Dan Ilic 🧴👠(@danilic) August 15, 2020
Donkey vote
Only in America … Biden was officially nominated as the Democrats’ pick by lift operator Jacquelyn. Meanwhile in Kentucky, librarian Maggie Gosney pleaded: “Please don’t put a library book in the microwave to kill the coronavirus. It sets fire to the barcode we put on the book”. Some readers just have no shelf control.
Honored to have won Jacquelyn's endorsement. pic.twitter.com/tGpNZjXacu
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2020
Bros before rose
Natasha Stott Despoja called out toxic behaviour on reality shows during her National Press Club speech on Wednesday. “When Bachelor in Paradise TV reality star Ciarran Stott, no relation, says that if you want to date my ex-girlfriend, you have to ask me — in some sort of perverse brother code — you cannot underestimate the potential message that sends to young people and risks endorsing outdated stereotypes.” Hear hear!
Not easy being Green
Richard Di Natale won’t be heading back to the Canberra Bubble™ to say ciao. The former Greens leader is serving his last days as a senator from Danistan, and plans to deliver his valedictory virtually next week. Another first! At this stage, his successor, Lidia Thorpe, hopes to be sworn in as Victoria’s first Aboriginal senator on October 6. And she’s already got her PPE planned — a Black Lives Matters mask and Stop Adani trucker hat.
Do ya think they’ll let me in on my first day of parliament in my uniform? pic.twitter.com/6CoSeYPnJ0
— Lidia Thorpe (@lidia__thorpe) August 18, 2020
In a roundabout way
Parliament’s presiding officers want pollies to stay in the Canberra Bubble™ at the weekend between sitting weeks. Cue Mr Canberra himself, Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh. “Dear Caucus Colleagues,” he emailed on Wednesday morn. “In case you’re looking for something to do, I’ve put together a list of 25 things to do in Australia’s most liveable city (including some activities that might suit people who’ve brought kids into town).” He also added COVID restrictions for each tourist local and the note: “According to Lonely Planet, Canberra is one of the world’s three hottest cities”. Fact check please! The hotspots include: the botanic gardens, War Memorial, Questacon, arboretum, galleries, museums (not sure how the yoof would feel about a day at the Archives), parks, zoos, the Mint, an indoor pool, Mount Ainslie, a rock climbing centre (with the zinger: “now you can really call yourself a social climber”), Fyshwick markets, a share bike hire, golf course, Kingpin Bowling (with the note: “website says ‘no sharing of balls between groups’, which seems good advice generally” — no super spreading balls here, thank you very much) and “Quizzic Alley — biggest range of official Harry Potter merchandise in Australia”. Leigh’s lacklustre listicle hasn’t inspired much confidence in his interstate comrades. “What were you expecting? It’s Canberra!” came one Queenslander’s snide aside. Strewth’s personal pick? Cockington Green — a miniature village with a tiny homage to Australian Michael O’Brien, oft considered the first documented streaker. The 150mm-high man is covered only by a policeman’s helmet as he’s escorted from the England v France rugby match at Twickenham Stadium in 1979.
Weatherboard nine
Here’s a future pilgrimage site for Nationals members — a bronze, full-body sculpture of caretaker prime minister John “Blackjack” McEwen is going up in the parliamentary triangle. Deputy PM Michael McCormack said it would depict our third-shortest serving PM (he reigned for 22 days after Harold Holt went swimming in Portsea) standing over two bags of wheat on a new commemorative pavement. The price tag? $500,000. Australia’s briefest ruler was Labor’s Frank Forde over seven 7 days in 1945, followed by the Country party’s Sir Earle Page on 19 in 1939. Only four other PMs have a statue in the ACT — Menzies, Curtin, Chifley and Barton.
What you Tolkien bout
Could there soon be a Lord of the Rings cluster? A tourist to Hobbiton (two hours’ south of Auckland) who took a tour around the former film set on August 7, has tested positive after leaving the country. One Strewth reader couldn’t stop collecting and reading books about The Hobbit. You could say she’s a huge Bilbo-phile. Which brings us to our new normal word of the day. Sorry-go-round (19th century): a repetitive cycle of depressing actions or events. Our puns, perhaps?
strewth@theaustralian.com.au
Libs should be-Ware what they say about JWH
Could things get any worse for the Liberals in Hughes? Well, strap in. Diary can reveal that Liberal candidate Jenny Ware once called John Winston Howard ‘out of touch’.
Believe in your selfie, Andrew
Kevin Rudd appears to have met his selfie match in Andrew Charlton.