This wasn’t a ‘mistake’, and the premier’s inaction proves the Liberals remain a collective of overgrown frat boys.
“Are you serious?” is one of three common reactions to the latest outrage emanating from the morality-challenged NSW branch of the Liberal Party: that its upper house MP Peter Poulos five years ago circulated explicit photos of a woman because she was a rival in a preselection contest.
The second reaction, spread over social media, is “Well, what did she expect?” because — and I can’t believe I have to type this — the photos were from a Penthouse modelling shoot some decades earlier. Apparently, according to this worldview, the exercise of agency over your own body is something you only get to do once. If you’re a woman, at least.
But back to Poulos. Let’s be clear about this: his reason for spreading the images was personal political gain. That’s implicit in his apology and statement that this was “a regrettable mistake”. Understandably, because the other possibilities are that he is a misogynist and/or a pervert.
Read more about Perrottet’s inaction on Peter Poulos.
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