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The Australian prime minister used his International Women's Day speech to defend men. Yes, really

The Australian prime minister used his International Women's Day speech to defend men. Yes, really

Happy International Women's Day; a day that exists to highlight all the amazing progress women have made over the years (and much more to come).

But, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison didn't seem to get the memo, considering he used his speech to mark this day to suggest that female advancement should not come at the expense of men.

Speaking to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy in Western Australia on Friday, Morrison said his party did not want to see women rise "only on the basis of others doing worse".

That is an absolutely Liberal value, that you don’t push some people down to lift some people up.

And that is true about gender equality too. We want to see women rise.

But we don’t want to see women rise only on the basis of others doing worse.

We want everybody to do better, and we want to see the rise of women in this country be accelerated to ensure that their overall place is maintained.

Yep, that's right. On a day that should be celebrating women's rights, the prime minister, whose own party is made up of 76% male members, has got it completely wrong.

Since this is not the first time Morrison has said something totally out of line, let's have a look at his top five blunders, shall we?

Photoshop fail

A picture of Morrison and his family was mocked on social media after his staff inadvertently photoshopped two left feet on the prime minister.

After getting ridiculed on social media Morrison jokes that staff could instead have improved his thinning hairline.

Know your history

Morrison once said Captain Cook circumnavigated Australia while splurging $6.7m to build a replica ship called the Endeavour, to "re-enact" Cook's voyage.

Here's a little fun fact: Captain cook never circumnavigated Australia, he only travelled along the east coast. The comments also started the glorious #ThingsCookDid memes.

'Stupid Bill'

He once vowed to ignore a vote on a "stupid bill" on refugees, which would allow doctors the final say on evacuating sick asylum seekers from offshore detention.

Private schools to avoid sexuality discussions

Morrison said he sends his children to private school to avoid "skin curling" sexuality discussions. He said he didn't want "the values of others" imposed on his children.

Vogue Drama

Iconic Vogue editor Anna Wintour criticised the PM after he implied his support for amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, which would allow religious schools to expel LGBT+ students. Sparking outrage, he quickly retracted his comments hours later.

Everyone from politicians to journalists was quick to go on Twitter to condemn the PM's words.

HT Pedestrian

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