The recent media focus on the toxic male culture of Parliament House has demonstrated something remarkable in the press gallery: the A-team is overwhelmingly women. This A-team is changing what gets considered “news” and how news events get hammered out as the political narrative.
It’s caught the government by surprise. The old tactics just don’t work; whether it’s dismissing unfortunate "one-off" events, hiding behind the “no one told me” defence, or even playing the “as a father” gambit.
The narrative is now out of their control. This is a broad-ranging critique in how patriarchy works in Australia’s parliament and elected government. As women, the members of the press gallery A-team can bring their own lived experiences to the story. And they’re not buying the lines fed out by the boys in the government.
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