Barnaby Joyce deserved all the scrutiny, says Sharri Markson; Di Natale lashes Malcolm Turnbull

Sharri Markson defends her Barnaby Joyce expose; Richard di Natale slams the PM over Michaelia Cash.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and his pregnant partner Vikki Campion pictured at Canberra airport. Picture: Kym Smith

TURNBULL ‘WEAK’ ON CASH COMMENT

Greens leader Richard Di Natale has slammed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, describing him as a “hopelessly conflicted PM,” who took the “soft political option” when it came to addressing Michaelia Cash’s controversial comments regarding Labor staffers last week.

Mr Di Natale told the ABC’s Q&A it was hypocritical for the prime minister to defend Michaelia Cash’s comments, after he “said to Australians ‘we need to create a more respectful work environment, particularly for women.’”

The Greens leader said Mr Turnbull should have “condemned” Ms Cash’s comments rather than defend them.

“When the country needs him to stand up and make a statement and back up the words he uttered only a few weeks ago, he was missing in action,” Mr Di Natale said.

Labor Deputy Leader, Tanya Plibersek also took aim at Ms Cash, saying the former Minister for Women’s comments “really overstepped the bounds of common decency.”

While, Ms Plibersek said politicians can stand up for themselves, “staff don’t have that opportunity to set the record straight ... she should have withdrawn much more quickly than she did.”

However, Liberal politician Angus Taylor said the debate had gone too far and the media needed to “stop getting absorbed in the Canberra bubble and focus on people out there in the community.”

If Turnbull hits 30 negative polls, do you think it’s time for him to resign? @AngusTaylorMP responds #QandA pic.twitter.com/byWtvUlheZ

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) March 5, 2018

When another questioner asked whether Ms Cash’s comments could undermine efforts to improve accessibility for women to pursue careers in politics, The Daily Telegraph’s Sharri Markson said Ms Cash’s statement was “really unhelpful.”

The political editor said Bill Shorten’s office comprised of “very smart, bright women, some are Harvard educated,” and asked “why would they enter a career in politics? Why would the next generation want to if they’ll be accused by the former Minister for Women of unsubstantiated slurs?”

‘JOYCE DESERVED EVERY OUNCE OF SCRUTINY’

The next questioner asked Markson why Barnaby Joyce was publicly scrutinised when the women targeted in Michaelia Cash’s comments in Senate Estimates last week weren’t.

Markson said both issues were “completely different,” and as the Deputy PM of Australia, Mr Joyce “deserved every ounce of scrutiny” he received.

On the other hand, Ms Cash had “threatened to name young women, who are the subject of rumour when nothing had been proven at all and they are not public figures.”

“In the other instance you had the second-most powerful man in the country, the deputy prime minister, who fills in for the acting PM when he is away ... who has conservative family values, has campaigned against same-sex marriage, has campaigned against the gardasil vaccine because it might make women more promiscuous ... you have this conservative figure who has left his wife and four daughters for a media adviser who is now pregnant,” Markson said.

Why did Mr Joyce not deserve a level of privacy? @SharriMarkson & @kamilashamsie respond #QandA pic.twitter.com/hpryFT6hOP

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) March 5, 2018

“And he signed off on the creation of two jobs for her within his own party. The two things couldn’t be more different.”

For Markson, the other key point was one example was a “slur,” while the other had been carefully checked and undergone a “rigorous journalistic process.”

Author and panellist, Kamila Shamsie agreed with Markson, saying “if you’re going to make a big deal about being all about family values, then you’re setting yourself up for someone to come at you for not being.”

“If they’re putting themselves forward in that way, then I’m afraid they are opening themselves up and their private life to scrutiny.”

ISIS FIGHTERS

When the panel was asked whether Australia should strip jihadis of their citizenship, they were divided.

Liberal Angus Taylor said “people who make shocking errors of judgment” should be accountable for their actions, describing the stripping of Australian citizenship as “good policy.”

Mr Di Natale disagreed, saying “If criminals commit a criminal act, they can be prosecuted as criminals. The Greens leader described citizenship “as a fundamental right,” which shouldn’t be stripped arbitrarily.

However, Markson described Australian counter-terrorism laws as “far too weak,” saying security services faced complex difficulties when dealing with returned jihadis.

.@AngusTaylorMP & @SharriMarkson thinks stripping citizenship is appropriate. @RichardDiNatale wants criminal punishment #QandA pic.twitter.com/3n5dyOLVku

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) March 5, 2018

“It requires 24-hour surveillance from our security authorities to ensure that these people don’t cause a mass casualty attack,” Markson said.

Shamsie said fear around terrorists was “related to the idea they’re not, let’s face it, really one of us, they’re not really Australian,” Markson shot back saying “if they declare war on our country, if they reject our very values, then they’re not Australian and don’t deserve to be Australian.”

Ms Plibersek agreed with Markson saying “it’s very difficult” for police and intelligence services to be able to gather evidence of crimes in warzones.

The Deputy Labor leader said she “frankly wouldn’t shed a tear for any Australian who went to fight and lost their life,” but worried for the children taken over to warzones by their parents.”

How will Muslims ever feel welcome if they have to answer for questionable choices by family members? @kamilashamsie responds #QandA pic.twitter.com/1iOjnDtOQa

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) March 5, 2018

‘YOU CAN’T TRUST LABOR ON ADANI’

The Adani coal mine proved a clear point of contention with representatives for Labor and the Greens butting heads over the issue.

When a questioner asked Ms Plibersek to clarify the ALP’s position on the proposed Adani mine, the Deputy Labor leader said her party’s position was “very clear.” “If it doesn’t stack up environmentally or economically it should not go ahead,”

Plibersek took aim at Mr Di Natale saying, “we don’t get to have the simplistic, when Richard says ‘stop Adani’ — it’s just nonsense.”

Please clarify the ALP’s position on the proposed Adani mine? @tanya_plibersek & @RichardDiNatale respond #QandA pic.twitter.com/UztRi6Z6d9

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) March 5, 2018

“We’re not like the Greens,” Ms Plibersek said. “We have to think about jobs in Queensland too.”

However, Mr Di Natale quickly fired back, labelling Bill Shorten as “all over the place.”

“He’s spruiking the Adani mine in Queensland, describing it as “just another project” and saying “coal has a long term future,” but then he’s down in Melbourne, saying “we’ll wait to see the business case.”

“The bottom line is you can’t trust Labor on it,” he said. “This is the same party that slashed the Renewable Energy Target, took money and voted with the Liberals.”

Liberal MP Angus Taylor took the opportunity to jump into the discussion, saying the Adani showdown between Labor and the Greens “tells us everything about the great challenge for the modern Labor Party.”

“On one hand they have an inner city educated elite they have to appeal to, who are typically increasingly becoming the domain of the Greens, on the other hand they have to win the traditional working-class Labor voters in places like Townsville.”

“You can’t say one thing to one and one thing to another, but that’s what Bill Shorten does every day.”