Grace Tame ‘failed to show manners’, says PM’s wife

Jenny Morrison has accused Grace Tame of failing to show ‘manners and respect’ when she visited The Lodge.

Scott Morrison’s wife, Jenny, has accused former Australian of the Year Grace Tame of failing to show “manners and respect” when she visited The Lodge, and defended her husband against criticism over his handling of abuse alle­gations in parliament.

In a soft 60 Minutes’ interview, Ms Morrison – who could be the Prime Minister’s biggest campaign asset – said voters should re-elect her husband because “Scott can give Australians the best of the life that they desire”.

She also revealed for the first time that a two-week break early on in their relationship occurred because Mr Morrison was “keen on another girl”, something the Prime Minister said the pair “fixed pretty quick”.

While admitting Mr Morrison could appear to “lack empathy” because he came at issues with a seriousness and focus that could be misunderstood, Ms Morrison said the behaviour of women’s rights activist Ms Tame had been “disappointing”.

Grace Tame gives Prime Minister Scott Morrison the “side eye” in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

“I respect people that want to change things, stand up for their beliefs and are strong, but I still think there’s manners and respect,” she said.

“I want my daughters to grow up to be fierce, strong, independent, amazing people. And I think they can still do that and show kindness to other people and be polite and have manners.”

The photo of Ms Tame giving the Prime Minister “side eye” in ­silent protest at his mishandling of women’s safety concerns went viral earlier this month.

The former Australian of the Year revealed a week later she had received a “threatening phone call” last year from someone in a government-funded agency ­warning her not to criticise Mr Morrison.

Ms Morrison also defended the Prime Minister’s performance in a press conference last year where he said he had come to understand the trauma endured by ex-Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins only after he spoke to Jenny, who had “a way of clarifying things”.

“Yes, he talks to me regularly. Do I make policy decisions? Absolutely not. But I can tell him how I feel about something,” she said.

Ms Higgins’s partner, David Shiraz, took to Twitter ahead of the 60 Minutes episode urging no one “tag” Brittany in commentary.

He slammed Nine for failing to “treat a trauma survivor with respect” and said he couldn’t “wait to see how Karl Stefanovic brushes over serious rape allegations with a chuckle in tonight’s 60 Minutes puff piece as he works to help Scott Morrison soften his image”.

When asked about her husband’s “worst traits”, Ms Morrison said it was frustrating that he was “married to the job”.

Addressing the family taking a holiday to Hawaii during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, she said she thought she was making the “right decision” at the time.

“Did we make the right decision? I thought I was making the right decision for my kids. I obviously was wrong,” she said.

“I wish that had never happened but I can’t change it.”

The interview also captured the Prime Minister playing the ukulele and praying before eating a meal he had cooked his family.

It comes after disappointment in communities of faith over his failure to pass the religious discrimination bill, with some commenting they felt “lied” to.

The 60 Minutes’ interview aired two weeks after Newspoll showed support for the Coalition had slumped to the lowest levels since the 2018 Liberal leadership spill, with approval in Mr Morrison plummeting after the Omicron outbreak.