Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has come under fire after she announced the appointment of Australia’s first Parliamentary Secretary for Men’s Behaviour Change. The new position has been pitched as part of the Allan government’s efforts to “make Victoria a safer place for women and children”, with the goal of helping end the scourge of the state's women dying at the hands of men.
To achieve this, the government has given Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson a junior ministerial role focusing on “the influence the internet and social media have on boys’ and men’s attitudes towards women and building respectful relationships.”
The announcement faced ridicule from some on social media, with both men and women reacting with scorn.
“You have got to be kidding me,” a woman named Lizzy responded, while another named Sara asked, “Are you for f**king real???”
“Do you really despise men that much??? Have you actually observed women's behaviour as well??? It goes both ways” Sara posted.
A male Twitter user described it as “an absolute joke” before accusing the Premier of “demonising men”.
“You’re serious? What an absolute joke. You are demonising men when a very small % are offenders and almost all them are people you’ve already let out on bail or are known to police already,” he said.
“Stop blaming all men. Start by fixing bail laws and keep offenders locked up. That will reduce violence in the community by a huge amount.”
In a social media post, Mr Richardson praised the creation of the role - calling it a “national first”.
“We know that the time to act on men’s violence against women is now and it starts with us men and boys,” Mr Richardson said.
“This is not easy work, but it is important, and we can’t afford not to address it and waste a moment.”
But some political and media figures were hostile to the idea.
Victorian Senator Jane Hume told Sky News AM Agenda host Laura Jayes the move “looks like window dressing”.
“If it is so important to this government… why is the position a parliamentary secretary's role?” Senator Hume said.
“It does sound to me like a little bit of window dressing around a really important issue, that involves genuine cultural change.”