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A call for beauty-disadvantaged women to consider moving to a
remote Australian mining town in north-west Queensland has earned
Mt Isa Mayor John Molony this year's golden
Ernie
Award
.
Now in their 16th year, the aim of the awards is to shame men for
outrageous sexism.
In August this year Molony suggested ugly ducklings had good
prospects of finding a man in his town because of its gender
imbalance.
When local women retaliated against the comment, Molony earned his
golden Ernie award by replying, "The protesters are blaming me for
their looks."
Western Australia's Treasurer Troy Buswell picked up the political
Ernie for snapping the bra of a female Labor staffer, making sexist
remarks to a Liberal MP and famously sniffing the chair of a
Liberal staffer.
The Nine Network's John Westacott won the Media Ernie for his
comment that "Sheilas do health and consumer stories - you want
your blokes, your main guns, doing the real news stories."
Professor Mark Wooden from the University of Melbourne took out the
Industrial Ernie.
At a National Press Club panel discussion in May, Professor Wooden
drew gasps from a mostly female audience when he said, "The pay
equity gap has got a lot to do with the fact that women are not
prepared to work longer hours."
The hotly contested Elaine award, "for remarks least helpful to the
sisterhood", went to federal MP Sophie Mirabella for her comment
during a debate in parliament about taxpayer funded staff at the
lodge.
Pointing to acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is childless,
she said "You won't need his (Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's) taxpayer
funded nanny, will you?".
Organisers said the Good Ernie award "for boys behaving better" was
a dead heat between rugby international Brendan Cannon, and
transport company Veolia.
Cannon said, "I don't want my daughter Phoebe growing up in the
country where almost all women will be victims of physical violence
or sexual abuse during their lifetimes."
The Veolia transport company was acknowledged for applying to the
Anti-discrimination Commission for exemption from the
Anti-Discrimination Act, so they could exclusively employ women
drivers "because women are better drivers and gentler on the
buses."
Other winners at last night's awards included the Nine Network's
Sam Newman, who got a Sport Ernie.
Solicitor Roland Day got a Judicial Ernie, while Archbishop Peter
Jensen and the Reverend Mark Driscoll came equal first to each win
a Clerical Ernie.
The awards were held at NSW Parliament House on Thursday
night.
Nominated people received awards based on the reaction of women who
attended the award night.
"We have highly trained boo monitors to decide who gets the biggest
boo," organiser Meredith Burgmann said.
