It was Clean Up Australia day yesterday, which you’d think would have something to do with looking after the country’s natural resources and doing something positive for your local environment… but of course, it’s really just another opportunity for political hacks to get out there and make hay. Tony Abbott, of course pulled out his best ‘man of the people’ hi-vis vest and went out to give a hand (with a swathe of photographers of course – but we can’t really fault him too heavily on that one as this particular event has always been a bit of a media circus anyway).
Anyway, I hope he actually did spend a few hours picking up rubbish and didn’t just turn up smile for the cameras putting some carefully vetted trash into a bag and then grab a wet wipe and walk away as soon as the cameras were away. But the interesting bit about his little photo stunt, is that poor Tony took a bit of a tumble down a slippery slope (no, I’m not talking about his dodgy as all hell climate change policy, I mean a literal section of damp grass covered terrain). Fortunately Mr Abbott appears to be unharmed.
What I want to know is, why is it that Mr Abbott falling on his arse is turning up in the blogosphere and all over the twitterverse but the media appear to be largely ignoring his decidedly ungainly and unmanly stumble. Whereas not so long ago, our Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, had the misfortune to trip on some uneven ground in her heels, and it was plastered about everywhere! Ad nauseaum. For days.
What’s with that mainstream media? Why does our female Prime Minister tripping inelegantly deserve intense media scrutiny and endless replays for days on end, while the man vying for her job, falling on his arse down an embankment, barely rates a mention so far?
Is it some sort of strange discriminatory sexims at play here? Or are Australia’s mainstream media outlets letting their political petticoats show?