MP dons garbage bag to slam 'rubbish' comments

SYDNEY • A video of a female lawmaker wearing a garbage bag to protest against what she called "rubbish" comments on her clothes has gone viral in Australia and drawn support from across the political spectrum.

The video shows Ms Nicolle Flint of the ruling Liberal Party asking whether people are "sick of sexist garbage" before calling out a columnist who commented on her appearance. Ms Flint then opens her coat to reveal the plastic sack.

Radio host Peter Goers had written about Ms Flint's "vast wardrobe of blazers, coats and tight, black, ankle-freezing trousers and stiletto heels" in his Sunday newspaper column.

"I've put up with a lot as a woman in politics," says Ms Flint, the MP for Boothby in South Australia, in the video.

It has been viewed over 220,000 times since it was posted to Twitter and Facebook on Monday.

She said she had dealt with a male stalker and seen her office vandalised with the word "prostitute" since becoming a politician.

"So, Mr Goers, what I want to know is, what should a woman in politics wear? How about a garbage bag to match your rubbish views," Ms Flint says in the video as she removes her coat to reveal the bag with a matching belt.

The post drew applause from other politicians, including the former premier of Queensland state, Mr Campbell Newman, who wrote: "Well done! #GarbagelikeGoers".

"The standards expected of women politicians are garbage," lawmaker Anika Wells from the rival Labor Party said in support of Ms Flint.

Mr Goers did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

In 2012, a fiery parliamentary speech made by Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard, in which she called out sexism in the country's politics and described then opposition leader Tony Abbott as a misogynist, became an Internet hit.

Her speech prompted Australia's Macquarie Dictionary, the authority on the English language in the country, to broaden the definition of misogyny.

REUTERS