Mark Latham slams Rosie Batty's 'feminist nonsense' in podcast spray
Former Labor leader Mark Latham has used his first podcast for radio station Triple M to label anti-domestic violence campaign Rosie Batty “a spokeswoman for the left feminist movement.”
Mr Latham’s new show Lathamland has been released to mixed reviews thanks, in part at least, to his views on the Australian of the Year.
According to Mr Latham, Australia’s national debate on domestic violence has morphed into a ‘generalised campaign’ against all men.
“It’s being run for political reasons,” he argued.
“It’s left feminists pushing what they call a definition of patriarchy.”
He went on to say he was worried about the direction of Australia’s ‘big national push’ against domestic violence, arguing the perceived demonisation of men would prove counterproductive.
“Demonising men makes the problem worse and if you want a solution, then deal with men in public housing estates and the Aboriginal communities where the problem is targeted,” he said.
“You would find by attacking poverty rather than attacking men you’ll get a far better solution than the nonsense we’re hearing from Rosie Batty and the other left feminists.”
Political correctness formed another section of Mr Latham’s debut podcast, as did the GST and Australia’s long-running debate on asylum seekers.
Ms Batty was named Australian of the Year in 2015 in recognition of her stand against family violence following the death of her son at the hands of her husband.
She has been almost unanimously lauded for he efforts and has become the de facto face of the nation’s debate on domestic violence issues over the past 12 months.
Mr Latham likely knows his comments on Ms Batty will lead to further controversy. It is not the first time he has criticised her.
In July he was lashed after accusing Ms Batty of comercialising the death of her son, Luke.
@RosieBatty1 Australian of the Year dividing the nation on the basis of gender. You owe my wife, daughter and mother a massive apology.
— Real Mark Latham (@RealMarkLatham) July 27, 2015
“How did Batty immerse herself in such company, wheeled out at business functions to retell the story of her son's murder in February 2014?” Mr Latham wrote in his June column for the Australian Financial Review.
"This is one of my pet gripes about modern society: the way in which serious issues and events are converted into bizarre forms of celebrity."
Ms Batty called the comments uninformed an ignorant, leading to another Latham controversy when it was revealed he had been operating a fake Twitter account (bizarelly called @RealMarkLatham) to level further criticism at her.
The saga led to Mr Latham being dropped as a Fairfax columnist after eight years writing for the AFR when the story drew criticism from the public and one of the paper's major sponsors, Westpac.
