Media Tarts

by Julia Baird

  53John Sampson,‘Haines & Co: why this time they matter’, Sunday Age, 11 March 1990; Phil Jarratt, ‘What makes a great politician’, Bulletin, 11 April 1989; Richard Farmer,‘Why Janine Haines will win’, Australian, 23 Feb. 1989; ‘Where the cup is Kingston’, Age, 18 Oct. 1989; Jacqueline Lee Lewes, ‘Canberra on the line’, SMH, 15 May 1989; Jane Cadzow, ‘Women about the House’, Good Weekend, Age, 26 Nov. 1988, p. 21.

  54Paul Willoughby, ‘Haines sacrifices all for Hindmarsh’, Advertiser, 1 Dec. 1988.

  55Glenda Korporaal, ‘Forward and left with the Democrats’, Bulletin, 20 Feb. 1990; Richard Farmer, ‘Janine Haines, the Democrats and the high cost of giving’, Australian, 21 Jan. 1990.

  56Rod Cameron claimed in 1990 that ‘a woman with experience in bringing up a family is now worth an extra advantage point on polling day . . . In the past it was the man who would have had such an advantage.’ (Rod Cameron, ‘Feminisation: the major emerging trend underlying future mass audience response’, unpublished address, 11th National Convention of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, 19 October 1990. See also Paul Kelly, ‘Real muscle, vain hopes’, Australian, 3 March 1990.) A survey conducted in Brisbane in 1983 found 65 per cent of respondents believed men entered politics because of ambition or a desire for power, while only 11 per cent of women had similar motives. (Wendy Richards, quoted by Marian Sawer, ‘From motherhood to sisterhood: attitudes of Australian women MPs to their roles’, Women’s Studies International Forum, vol. 9, 1986, p. 539.) This idea is similar to the theme in press coverage that Pippa Norris identifies as women leaders being portrayed as ‘agents of change’ who will clean up corruption in politics. She acknowledges that ‘in part this frame reflects campaign themes by some of the women.’ (Pippa Norris, ‘Women leaders worldwide’, in Norris, op. cit., p. 163.)

  57In the mid-1990s, Carmen Lawrence was referred to as ‘Saint Lawrence’ when she moved to federal parliament, and Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot was also referred to as ‘Saint Cheryl’ before she switched to the ALP.

  58David O’Reilly, ‘Haines: honest, trustworthy’, Bulletin, 5 Sept. 1989.

  59Peter Smark, ‘The descent of Saint Janine not to be taken as gospel’, Age, 24 Feb. 1990.

  60To have won the seat, she would have needed to finish second to draw the preferences of the major parties. Figures are as reported by Mark Bruer, ‘Powell volunteers as Democrats begin search for new leader’, Age, 26 Mar. 1990. Slightly different figures were reported by Roy Eccleston, ‘Leader’s loss sours victory for Democrats’, Australian, 26 Mar. 1990.

  Chapter Six: The Cover Girls: ‘Forget policy, I’ve got great legs!’

  1Marion Frith, ‘For Ros, a picture for everyday use, and another to put over the Cabinet’, Canberra Times, 19 July 1990, p. 1.

  2Mike Seccombe, ‘Between the sheets, but no smut, SMH, 19 July 1990, p. 1. Several years later, Smith said the shots of Kelly had hardly ruined her career, but she was critical of Cheryl Kernot for posing on the front page of the Australian Women’s Weekly: ‘I think anyone who looks as if they are dressed to kill or looks as if they are trying too hard has a problem . . . In that shot of Ros Kelly there was no jewellery, no feather boas.’ (Pilita Clark & Margo Kingston, ‘Dress sense’, SMH, 25 March 1998, p. 13.)

  3Front cover, Australian Magazine, 17 June 1989.

  4Angela Donaldson, ‘Yes Minister!’, Woman’s Day, 8 March 1993, p. 28.

  5‘Kissable Senator’, Australian, 23 May 1974.

  6Digby McLean, ‘Meeting the kissable senator’, Canberra News, 6 June 1974.

  7ABC Radio, 11 Jan. 1991, Federal Parliamentary Library transcript, pp. 8–9.

  8A year later an article appeared about how Sullivan’s husband coped with earning less than her, doing chores and ‘people referring to him as Mrs Martin’. (‘Her job has to come first’, Australian, 20 Nov. 1976.) Note also that all newspapers reported, despite the headline in the Courier-Mail, that she would continue to use her maiden name in politics.

  9‘Senator “evicts” estranged husband’, Advertiser, 14 Feb. 1978; ‘Kathy . . . it’s over’, Sun-Pictorial, 14 Feb. 1978; ‘“My wife evicted me” — Senator’s husband’, Courier-Mail, 14 Feb. 1978.

  10Sullivan sued the Melbourne Truth over an article it ran on the break-up of her second marriage. (Lyndall Crisp, ‘The MP who shot herself in the foot’, Bulletin, 18 July 1989.) She told me that, becauses no one from the Truth arrived for the hearing, the judgement went against them, with damages and costs negotiated.

  11Hugh Lunn, ‘“I take the rap for being a woman,” says Senator Kathy Martin’, Australian, 15 Feb. 1978.

  12Editorial, ‘Politician knocking’, Australian, 16 Feb. 1978; Hugh Lunn, ‘Queensland Liberals live in fear of the pumpkin-scone vote’, Australian, 9 Feb. 1983.

  13Wallace Brown, ‘Canberra’s Blonde Bombshell’, Courier-Mail, 24 Feb. 1977. See also articles in the Australian and the Age, but note the headline was used only in the Courier-Mail.

  14Lyndall Crisp, ‘The MP who shot herself in the foot’, Bulletin, 18 July 1989.

  15The only period during which Sullivan was not on the back bench was a few months in 1983, when Andrew Peacock promoted her to the shadow ministry as opposition spokesperson for home affairs and administrative services, before he was deposed as leader after losing the election.

  16Tony Baker, ‘The day the ALP went chic!’, News, 17 June 1980.

  17He was indignant in 1983 when Wiese was not given a ministry because, he argued, she had been ‘good enough to be a showpiece party president’. (Tony Baker, ‘Women take a wallop’, News, 27 April 1983.)

  18Randall Ashbourne, ‘Barbara’s beauty is a barrier’, Sunday Mail, 18 April 1982.

  19Samela Harris, ‘Wiese: work is a lifestyle for her’, Advertiser, 16 July 1985.

  20Louise Boylen, ‘A flourish of flowers for Barbara’, Australian, 19 July 1985, p. 6.

  21‘Promises, promises’, News, 25 July 1985. When she was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in 1977, Jennifer Cashmore was called Jennifer Adamson, but she reverted to her maiden name in 1986.

  22Geoff de Luca, ‘Bannon “amazed” by tour jibe’, News, 25 Feb. 1987.

  23Interview with the author, 3 Dec. 1997. Towards the end of Wiese’s career, there was an inquiry into accusations she had used her position to help her partner, who had been working with the hotels and clubs associations (to develop a strategy to get poker machines introduced into South Australia) and had been involved as a consultant in a Kangaroo Island tourist development. She believes the media followed it more intently because of a long-standing, media-created perception ‘about the attractive minister who had a man and there was the added spice that we weren’t actually married and this view . . . that women more than men are incapable of separating their personal lives from their business lives’. Wiese called for an inquiry, and was cleared of charges of impropriety, but was found to have breached cabinet conflict of interest rules. (Katherine Towers & Ewin Hannan, ‘Retiring MP tells of beating the old guard’, Australian, 28 Aug. 1995, p. 2.) Journalist Chris Kenny, in an exposé of the manipulation of the media by the South Australian government, believed she should have resigned. (Chris Kenny, State of Denial, Wakefield Press, Kent Town, South Australia, 1993, pp. 33–34, 40–41.)

  24Interview with the author, 3 Dec. 1997.

  25Warren Owens, ‘Woman to replace Punch’, Sunday Telegraph, 4 Aug. 1985.

  26Wayne Sanderson, ‘Nationals’ lady looks a winner’, Daily Telegraph, 12 Oct. 1985.

  27Liz Van Den Nieuwenhof, ‘Wendy’s used to breaking tradition’, Daily Telegraph, 6 Feb. 1989.

  28Dorian Wild, ‘Dabs of colour set hearts a flutter’, Daily Telegraph, 31 Oct. 1985; ‘P.S.’, Daily Telegraph, 1 Nov. 1985; ‘Dabs of colour . . .’; ‘Wendy still the best’, Sun-Herald, 13 Nov. 1988.

  29Interview with the author, 5 Nov. 1997.

  30Interview with the author, 29 March 2001.

  31Malcolm Farr, ‘MP’s good looks spar
k row’, Daily Mirror, 22 Feb. 1989, pp. 1– 2.

  32Adam Connolly, ‘Machin looking good — tipped for a post in next ministry’, Daily Mirror, 25 July 1990. Note this photograph was printed again, months later, with an article on how she was considered ministerial material.

  33Peter Grimshaw, ‘“Pretty” Wendy puts politics first in Parliament’s bear pit’, Daily Telegraph, 23 Feb. 1989. Another debate erupted in the press after opposition leader Bob Carr refused to apologise for calling Machin a ‘silly bitch’ at a press conference in May 1992. He argued it was not public comment and he had been speaking ‘off the record’. Alicia Larriera, ‘Carr isn’t sorry about “silly bitch” criticism’, SMH, 2 May 1992; ‘Carr told to apologise for sexist jibe’, Telegraph Mirror, 2 May 1992. He had been referring to Machin, who as deputy speaker had prevented him from completing his prepared speech on the Australian flag, saying, ‘The silly bitch stopped me getting out half my speech.’ Although print journalists did not report it until it was brought up in parliament by the speaker, Kevin Rozzoli, radio journalists had broadcast it. Carr’s comments revived the debate about ‘sexism and confidences in the NSW parliament’, according to Australian. Kylie Davis, ‘Carr calls Machin a silly bitch, off record’, Australian, 2 May 1992. It was not a comment quickly forgotten. Mark Coultan, ‘Touchy issue with women, so Fahey had no choice but to wield the axe’, SMH, 28 Oct. 1994.

  34Phillip Clark (ed.), ‘Polly wants to be a cracker’, Stay in Touch, SMH, 11 Feb. 1991. On the first day, photographs of Machin in a leopard print bra top and matching shorts appeared, alongside a photograph of her reclining by the sea in a sundress. The next day, two more photographs of Machin, in a suit and a party dress, were published, and the day after that readers were provided with their own ‘Wendy dolls’ to dress in ‘Dancing Wendy’ or ‘Working Wendy’ cutouts. When she announced her engagement a couple of months later, they provided a wedding dress to add to the Wendy doll collection. (Stay in Touch, ‘Remember to chuck the bouquet, Wendy’, SMH, 6 May 1991.)

  35Tony McGowan, ‘Dressing down for a model MP’, Telegraph Mirror, 14 Feb. 1991.

  36Telegraph Mirror, 14 Feb. 1991. The role of the broadsheet political trivia — or satirical — column and of the tabloid newspaper are interesting in this incident: the former ‘broke’ the story and mocked Machin for baring any flesh for the cameras, while the latter gave the story great prominence, centred it on conflict, and defended her in an editorial for ‘correctly’ displaying an attractive physique. The satirical nature of Stay in Touch gave it licence to be critical of Machin, and highlight her appearance in a slightly superior and more mocking way than the tabloid newspapers. The ‘humanity’ she was cheered for bringing to politics appeared to be in fact a femininity predicated on sexual desirability.

  37Sue Williams, ‘Now trendy Wendy must wear the flak’, Telegraph Mirror, 18 Feb. 1991.

  38Bryce Corbett, ‘Regret of her own Machin’, Daily Telegraph, 6 July 1996, p. 13.

  39‘Wal misses out’, Sunday Telegraph, 22 March 1992; ‘Baby boomer’, Sun-Herald, 22 March 1992.

  40Sandra Olsen,‘New mum first pick for cabinet’, Telegraph Mirror, 21 May 1993.

  41Janise Beaumont, ‘Why Wendy keeps it in the family’, Sunday Telegraph, 24 Oct. 1993.

  42The odd gratuitous headline continued: ‘Blondes have more funds’, Telegraph Mirror, 20 July 1993. The article was about Chadwick, Machin and Chikarovski talking to female members of the Liberal Party’s 500 Club: ‘NSW parliament’s political bombshells joined forces last night to entertain and inform several hundred of the Liberal Party’s female faithful.’

  43Jody Scott, ‘Mothers deny the dangers of day care’, Australian, 30 March 1994; Gabrielle Chan, ‘Candidate ignores flak over remarks on widow’, Australian, 19 May 1994; Paola Totaro, ‘Libs fail to find a shining star for by-election fight’, SMH, 19 May 1994.

  44‘Nappy power makes mark in NSW politics’, Sunday Telegraph, 29 March 1992.

  45Interview with the author, 5 Nov. 1997.

  46Paul Simpson, ‘She’s up to her neck in it: Janice turns back the tide’, Daily Telegraph, 21 Dec. 1984.

  47Editorial, ‘Don’t be wet, Mrs Crosio!’, Daily Mirror, 21 Dec. 1984.

  48Marian Theobold, ‘Minister delays drain relocation’, Eastern Herald, 21 Aug. 1986.

  49Malcolm Farr, op. cit., p. 2. Janice Crosio was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 as the member for Prospect, NSW.

  50Interview with the author, 27 Feb. 1997.

  51Quoted in Susan Mitchell, The Scent of Power: On the Trail of Women and Power in Australian Politics, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1996, p. 91.

  52John Hurst, ‘Kirner and the media’, Australian Journalism Review, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan–June 1993, p. 127.

  53Miranda Devine,‘Success creates big problems’, Daily Telegraph, 8 April 1997, p. 10.

  54Interview with the author, 6 May 1998.

  55Miranda Devine, op. cit.

  56Janine Cohen, ‘The politics of fashion: women MPs get a dressing down’, Herald (Melbourne), 17 Dec. 1984.

  57Nathan Vass, ‘Kelly was a victim of sexist hate mail’, Sunday Telegraph, 8 July 2001, p. 3.

  58Janine Cohen, op. cit.

  59Michelle Grattan, ‘Grass-roots Democrats out to sprout a taller poppy’, Age, 3 Aug. 1991; Clare Curran, ‘Profile: Janet Powell’, Australian Left Review, no. 122, Oct. 1990, p. 8.

  60Pilita Clark, ‘Democrats’ tussle has inimitable style’, SMH, 2 Aug. 1991.

  61Mike Seccombe, ‘Janet wants a new image’, SMH, 3 Aug. 1991.

  62Kay O’Sullivan, ‘A change of image: Powell needs updating, experts agree’, Herald-Sun, 10 Aug. 1991, p. 5.

  63Powell stood on a ticket with the Rainbow Alliance, a Victorian political group with a platform based around the environment, peace and social justice. By this time — October 1992 — photographs revealed she had in fact changed her hairstyle to a softer, lighter, blow-waved look, and wore make-up. However, part of her problem, according to Innes Willox, was that she had ‘never fitted the mould’. She was matronly, nice and pleasant: not what you would expect of a leader of the Democrats, he wrote. Innes Willox, ‘A long search for political alternatives’, The Age, 3 July 1993.

  64Luke McIlveen, ‘One’s a toiler with funny hair, the other is Dilbert’, Daily Telegraph, 16 April 2004, p. 2.

  65Julia Baird, ‘Kemp a victim of the razor gang’, SMH, 16 Jan. 1999, p. 4.

  66Larry Schwartz, ‘Asher takes life in a “man’s world” in her stride’, Sunday Age, 23 July 2000, p. 3.

  Chapter Seven: Natasha Stott Despoja: the ‘impossible princess’

  1The story has been told many times: On the day of her swearing-in ceremony in 1995, Stott Despoja brought two pairs of shoes to Parliament House: a pair of Doc Martens and some conservative heels. She consulted her leader, Cheryl Kernot, who left the choice to her but later said she had warned against cultivating a personality profile. Stott Despoja’s version of the story is different. She says she arrived at work in the Docs she had often worn in Parliament House when she worked there as an adviser: ‘I turned up with things to move into an office, I had my high heels . . . just a daggy pair of courts that I had, and I brought them up to the Senate chamber and I said to Cheryl, “Are you okay, I brought these just in case,” and she said “Nup, there’s no time, come on.” And it was just like, “okay”.’

  2She also wrote a piece for the Age about her first two months in parliament, which asserted, ‘As Australia’s youngest female federal politician, I am used to people focusing on my age or my appearance’, and went on to explain again why she wore the Docs. She said she hoped that her presence would bring young people to the polls, ending with, ‘By exercising this democratic right, young people will also have the opportunity to give undeserving representatives the boot, whether they are wearing Doc Martens or not.’ (Natasha Stott Despoja, ‘There’s a new “kid” in town’, Age, 9 Feb. 1996, p. 20.) In a diary she kept for the Sun-Herald abo
ut her first days in parliament, she said she had no time to reflect on the ‘strange preoccupation of the media’ with her shoes. (‘Natasha Stott Despoja talks about . . . her first day in parliament’, Sun-Herald, 19 May 1996, p. 3.)

  3In 2001, when weighing her up against Lees in the leadership contest, the Age assessed that Lees was famous for determination, while Stott Despoja was famous for Doc Martens in parliament. Annabel Crabb, ‘Defiant Lees ready for leadership face-off’, Age, 28 Feb. 2001, p. 4.

  4In 1996, she made a strong contribution to debates about tertiary education, and was often quoted on the subject. Matthew Franklin, writing about the changes in university funding for the Courier Mail, credited the Democrats for consistency in their opposition to university fees, and argued that the staunch defence of their position by Stott Despoja had launched her political career and marked her as a ‘mover and shaker’, as she had ‘become the rallying point for people opposing the Vanstone changes. Even Vanstone, at the height of the debate on Wednesday, was heard to utter that Stott Despoja at least knew what she was talking about.’ (‘Education inc.’, 7 Dec. 1996, p. 26.) Georgina Windsor also reported this in the Australian, writing that Stott Despoja’s ‘knowledge and straight shooting style on higher education issues has made many in parliament sit up and take notice, and sparked whispers about her look of leadership’. (‘Vote battle a tale of two women’, 5 Dec. 1996, p. 2.) In 1997, the subjects she was quoted on included bank fees, funding for science and technology research, labelling of genetically modified food, the application of the Privacy Act, job training programs, proposed voucher schemes, taxation of postgraduate scholarships, information technology, student protests, cuts to the Aboriginal student supplement, legislation restricting access of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Human Rights Commissioner from visiting immigration detainees, interest rate cuts, an online Wik petition, a decline in university enrolment applications, and the failed fraud case against John Elliott by the National Crime Authority. Other topics included the work for the dole plan, internet censorship, the need for data on marine pests, guidelines for social security benefits for immigrants, youth unemployment, compulsory voting, university staff cuts, literacy rates, the information economy, product safety standards, the constitutional convention, and sending plutonium into space. She also regularly attacked One Nation and its policies for young people. She was responsible for the release of the Democrats’ youth poll. She submitted a dissenting report in June 1997 to the Senate Select Committee on Community Standards. The majority report argued for an extension of banned material, and greater penalties for the transfer of adult material — porn — over the net. Stott Despoja argued this was too restrictive, and supported an independent complaint handling body, codes of practice for the industry, age verification for net users, and a scheme to label online content.