After he mounted the platform and charged her with denying him the chance to speak, the leader of a demonstration against gendered violence claims the prime minister ignored her.
When Anthony Albanese and the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, showed up at the No More event in Canberra yesterday, he said that the organisers told him “that wasn’t possible” despite their requests to speak.
Speech organiser Sarah Williams is heard saying in video footage of the event, “That’s a lie. That’s an outright falsehood,” she said, looking obviously upset.
Williams claimed that the experience had traumatised her and that neither she nor the other organisers had heard from the PM since.
“He hasn’t made contact. Extremely disappointing,” she remarked.
She added that following his address, Albanese went right away without staying to hear any more speakers.
“He didn’t check in on me or anyone else,” she continued.
Williams asserts that via social media posts, Albanese, Gallagher, and MP Amanda Rishworth tried to “change the narrative” about the mood at the protest.
“He was invited to speak from me, because I wanted him to speak if he was going to commit to one of our demands,” she said.
“But he told the whole of Australia that he asked to speak and his offices, and Katy Gallaghers’ said that it would be too late of notice for him to speak.”
Williams claimed that upon learning that Albanese was there for the demonstration, they made it very apparent that they intended to walk in unison rather than communicate.
“So when he got up there you could see my reaction was …. ’what in the world’,” she continued.
Williams claimed that despite her requests for Albanese and Gallagher to agree to five main objectives, they were unable to come to a consensus.
The audience started to become agitated at that point, she claimed, saying, “They were asking why are you here then?”
I asked the audience, ‘Do we want him to speak?’ She remarked, “I wanted the audience to make the decision, not him.
“And whilst I was saying that, he said behind me, which many people heard: ‘I’m the Prime Minister I run this country’.”
“If he was denied the opportunity…. why would you get up there and take over and make it your own agenda?”
After the event, Albanese told Today that it was a “tough day,” but he emphasised that he was still “focused on the issue” of stopping domestic abuse.
“I understand that folks had an emotional day because it was such a sensitive subject. since yesterday women were saying, ‘Enough is enough,'” he remarked.
Albanese stated that during the national cabinet’s meeting on Wednesday, he will be talking about the measures that governments may take to stop domestic abuse.
“Clearly governments need to do more, but as a society as well,” he stated.
“We must admit that we must alter our behaviour. We must adopt new perspectives. It is completely unacceptable, so we must alter the culture.”
