Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has decried threats against politicians after “ditch the witch” advertisements were made against Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
Trucks carrying billboards that display the phrase and an image of the premier in a black pointed hat have been driving around Melbourne for several weeks.
The $105,000 campaign was paid for by Gotham City brothel owner Franco Puleo and other local business owners, according to The Age.
Albanese raised concerns that threats against politicians could escalate to an act of political violence as he called for the nation to “turn the temperature down”.
“The sexist campaign targeting the Victorian premier is totally unacceptable and has no place in public life,” he told reporters.
“Young girls will see that depiction of a premier as a witch, just like the denigration that Julia Gillard suffered from as prime minister, and it is just not on.
“What I don’t want to do is to have a press conference in this courtyard after a tragedy.”
ASIO last year found 951 threats were made against politicians in a year and 85 per cent of politicians and their staff reported dealing with violent, threatening and volatile behaviour.
Albanese said the behaviour “has got to stop”.
“You can have a disagreement with people’s policy position, by all means. You don’t have to denigrate people in such a personal way,” he said.
Allan condemned the recent corrosive nature of the political debate in a statement calling out the campaign against her.
“People are entitled to disagree with me. That’s democracy. But I care that this attacks women. And I care about who’s next,” she said.
“If you don’t take a stand against this creeping culture, it has a tendency of taking over.
“I cannot stand back and let Victoria become a place where this sort of language is fair game against any woman at work – or any woman in leadership.”
The Victorian opposition leader similarly condemned the language and said the billboards were “sexist” and “inappropriate”.
“That sort of language, that sort of discourse should never be used in politics,” Jess Wilson said today.
Julia Gillard, who was subject to the “ditch the witch” slogan when she was prime minister 15 years ago, said she was disgusted to see it used again at Allan.
She said anyone who funded the billboards should be outed for being “unimaginative, ugly sexists”.
“In the years since, my view has been that things were slowly improving for women in politics,” she said.
“More women are leading, sexism hasn’t gone away but it is less ferocious in the political mainstream, though social media continues to be a toxic sewer.
“I am saddened to see that improvement cast aside and this tired old trope resurrected.”
While many politicians have rallied behind Allan, One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson was less sympathetic and told Sky News she was also called a witch by former Nationals leader Tim Fischer.
“Suck it up, sweetheart,” she said.
“Besides, Jacinta, I’ll tell you something, I’ve heard on the grapevine, you won’t be there in a couple of weeks.”
Hanson is referring to mounting speculation of an impending Labor leadership spill to oust Allan amid fears the party will be unseated by One Nation at the state election in late November.
A Roy Morgan poll of 1700 voters in Victoria showed a roughly equal four-way split between Labor, One Nation, the Coalition and minor parties and the independents ahead of the election.
Labor remained unchanged at 25.5 per cent, One Nation was down at 24.5 per cent, the Coalition was up 24 per cent and the minor parties like the Greens and independents up 26 per cent.
