Shadow Minister,

What rot.

All the claims in the 4 Corners news story had been
sourced and put through stringent editorial and legal
checks at the highest levels. And NO - the Liberal
Party was not targeted. It was where the evidence
took the news story with regard to current ministers
serving back when the ministerial code was instituted.

The story dealt with the toxic culture around women in
our parliament and it goes to the conduct of ministers,
ministers of the crown to be held to the highest
standards in society.

The story is absolutely in the public interest.
Stop- excusing the behaviour.

Foxy,

The shadyminister aligns himself with people like Christian Porter.

He sees himself as part of the social elite manned by politicians, bureaucrats and business people.

You the type, all the sort of people I refer to from time to time as low-life scumbags.

Shonkyminister,

The the touchy feely fellas, its a Coalition thing. The Liberals and Nationals both run a boys club, when it comes to women they're seen as fair game, play things to be messed with. Its not bias that the ABC unmasked Touchy Tudge and the AG aka "Vomit Boy," the bloke runs around with bags of vomit for goodness sake, can you believe it? We can't expect less from a mob of reprobates.

Now that Cash woman, who has form, is being investigated for being a bully. Its been shown PM Abbott was a misogynist, and Deputy PM Barnyard Joy was a bonking Barney! What more evidence do you require? PHOTOGRAPHS!

From the Australian

"Much like the BBC, the ABC was formed, and its mission framed, on the basis of two beliefs that emerged from the trauma of the First World War.

The first was that it was crucial to shaping public understanding in the direction of greater civility and mutual respect.

The second was an unqualified faith in the capacity of educated elites to undertake that function.

The risk that those entrusted would become a self-serving sect never crossed the founders’ minds. Yet nothing more clearly highlights the collapse of their high-minded vision than last Monday’s attack on Christian Porter and Alan Tudge. It is not merely that the program lacked the slightest pretence of being fair-minded, objective and impartial the ABC clearly believes such hypocrisy is no longer needed.

Rather, the most shocking element was the complete failure to ask why it was in the public interest to devote taxpayers’ resources to so shabby a purpose, after all, no claim that the ministers’ conduct involved misuse of office or dereliction of duty; the only substantive contention was that Porter and Tudge are philanderers.

Porter and Tudge vigorously reject the program’s contentions. But it makes no sense to demand that politicians be saints; if we did, Hawke would never have become PM.

Politicians and their families deserve as much privacy as anyone else, except when infringing on that privacy are vital for holding them to account.

Unfortunately, the ABC merely reflects the broader disappearance in our political discourse of the distinction between the public and private spheres — a trend as obvious in the excesses of #metoo as it is in the ill-considered “bonking” ban.

Dear shadowminister,

Are you really quoting a Murdoch rag at me?

Firstly is there any evidence that Hawke targeted his staffers? Time has indeed moved on though.

Secondly this wasn't about extramarital affairs, it was about disobeying a directive from former PM Turnbull and enforced by the current PM about sleeping with staffers.

The reason these type of relationships are problematic is the power imbalance which exists between boss and employee. This type of behaviour is not accepted in corporate Australia, why are you so keen to excuse it in our politicians, the ones we are directly paying for via our taxes? The ABC has every right and even an obligation to run the story.

However I was a little uneasy about trolling back through Porter's youth because my own was not squeaky clean in regard to the consumption of beverages but I most certainly aren't the kind of sanctimonious twat with regard to Christian values as he is. Most of us grow out of the kind of unsavory behaviour he was shown to engage in but he still seems to be at it as a Minister.

After Trump it is clear the right will just about excuse any kind of problematic and even debased behaviour from those in power.

If any female Coalition MP (is there such an animal) has anything to say about bullying and put downs of women in the government, ScumO' is at the ready to answer on her behalf. Can't have these emotional girlies typies answering questions, you never know what they might say, its all to do with the hormones and those sorts of things. Gee, the Coalition let them into the boys club, now they want to say something, how ungrateful!

Steele, shonkyminister has to quote the Murdoch gutter press, what else does he have, he got suckered into a lifetime subscription.