Julia Gillard at the 2011 Labor Conference. Photo: Liam Mendes.
It’s funny how effortlessly moments can be cemented in history.
By all accounts, then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard had little idea that on a Canberra afternoon, this day last year, her words would become one of the most enduring symbols of her leadership.
“I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, I will not,” she began, her finger wagging sternly at Tony Abbott across the bench.
“And the Government will not be lectured about misogyny by this man. Not now, not ever.”
Most Aussies are likely to recall that Ms Gillard’s vitriol was sparked when Mr Abbott demanded former Speaker Peter Slipper’s resignation, for lewd texts he sent to a staffer that were made public.
But it was the sentiment, rather than the cause, of the speech that left Gillard’s words reverberating across the globe.
The New Yorker’s Amelia Lester went so far as to suggest that President Obama’s supporters might like him to take on a little more of Gillard’s gusto.
In conversation with writer Anne Summers at the Sydney Opera House recently, Ms Gillard revealed to a clap-happy crowd that to be lectured on sexism by Mr Abbott, of all people, was the breaking point that prompted the outburst.
“That gave me the emotional start to the speech and once I started, it took on a life of its own,” she said.
The eager spread of the speech worldwide seemed to confirm that despite progress in women’s representation in public life, many still feel the weight of what is yet to be achieved.
It is worthwhile noting that the speech was only weeks after the brutal rape and murder of Melbourne’s Jill Meagher, which reignited dialogue about violence against women.
And it took place on the same day that in another corner of the world, young Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating education for girls.
Both of these instances were far more severe than the subtleties of Mr Abbott’s attitudes towards women that Ms Gillard so artfully dissected – but are part of the climate that caused the reaction.
With Julie Bishop now the lone lady ranger in Prime Minister Abbott’s cabinet, one would be right to wonder if Gillard’s spontaneous stand made any real difference.
But it isn’t likely to be forgotten any time soon.
