The Liberal party has issued an order to its senior executive members telling them to stop making pubic comments. While the edict applies to all members of their executive, it’s widely understood it’s been brought in as an attempt to reign in conservative commentator, and party Vice President, Teena McQueen.
As the federal government get’s closer to heading to the polls the Liberal federal executive passed a motion on last week that declared “until the date of the next federal election” only its federal president John Olsen and federal director Andrew Hirst may make public statements, written or oral, about federal party matters.
The new rule has been brought in reportedly due to politicians and party members being concerned about a series of public comments made by McQueen who appears several times a week on various Sky News programs.
The ruling appears to have done little to curb McQueen from sharing her opinions, she told Nine newspapers, “Do you think anyone could gag me?”
One of McQueen’s most memorable media appearances occurred just two weeks before the 2019 election when she was a guest on the ABC’s Q&A program. Described as a ‘train wreck’ performance, she spoke fondly about her interactions with US President Donald Trump when he’d judged a beauty pageant, and made accusation about Greens leader Adam bandy which host Tony Jones immediately labeled as “probably defamatory”.
During her recent appearances on Sky News McQueen has called for more laws to be introduced to restrict transgender women from participating in society, labeled the Prime Minister’s Religious Discrimination Bill “a hot mess“, and said party members should endorse conservative candidates in outer Sydney seats because the Mardi Gras only travelled up Oxford Street.
In 2021 Teena McQueen was awarded The Elaine, an satirical award for the most sexist comments made by women in Australian public life.
McQueen reportedly commented in a meeting, “I would kill to be sexually harassed at the moment.” Her comment was made in the wake of the alleged rape of Parliament House staffer Brittany Higgins, and as several Liberal Ministers faced accusations of harassment.
OIP Staff
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