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Updated: 10.14am
AN AUSTRALIAN RADIO presenter has been sacked after he asked the country’s prime minister if her partner is gay during a live radio interview.
6PR presenter Howard Sattler suggested that Tim Mathieson may be gay because he is a hairdresser and asked Gillard to comment on speculation that this is the case.
He has earlier been suspended for his comments but has since been sacked by the station’s parent company Fairfax Radio whose general manager announced the sacking on air earlier today.
The awkward radio exchange took place yesterday ahead of the country’s general election in September where it is likely that Gillard’s Labor Party will be heavily defeated by the Liberal National Party.
YouTube: videosa1099
In a statement issuing an apology for the incident, the Perth-based station said that the line of questioning was “disrespectful and irrelevant to the political debate”.
“Mr Sattler apologised later in the programme for his line of questioning. The management of FRN also extends its sincere apologies to the Prime Minister and her partner,” the statement said.
Sattler has been suspended from broadcasting pending an internal inquiry, the company added. He has since been sacked, it was confirmed by Fairfax’s general manager this morning.
The incident is the latest in a string of sexism controversies in Australia involving Gillard. Earlier this week it emerged that a menu at a fundraiser for an opposition party candidate contained crude comments about her body.
The menu at Liberal National Party candidate Mal Broughs’s fundraiser included: “Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail – Small Breasts, Huge Thighs and a Big Red Box”.
Gillard said the menu item was “grossly sexist” while opposition leader Tony Abbott called it “tacky”.
In another incident last year, Gillard hit out at Abbot, “his performance in this parliament and the sexism which he brings with it” in a speech which went viral.
Abbot also previously said that Gillard, who has no children, was inexperienced when it comes to having babies.
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So what was the actual problem?!
None, just lazy journalists creating stories.
Scribbled on a 9 to make it look like an 8, the Donegal b@$tards!!!
With the addition of the extra two numbers the odds of winning are eleven million to two so the lotto is only won a maximum of eight times per year, lotto one & two maybe three times per year. So lotto definitely is a tax on people who are poor at maths.
Free publicity for the ailing lottery?
More & more people are doing their numbers in the bookies these days since ownership of OUR national lottery changed hands and they made it even more difficult to win a substantive prize.
Any stats to back that up.
Too true Frank much better payout for 2, 3 and 4 numbers in Ladbrooks i.e. €100 payout for a euro bet for 2 numbers on the Euromillions.
New operator tried to get out of paying. Plain and simple. Hope the winner enjoys it fair play.
On what basis ?
‘issues has arisen surrounding the payment.’
Glad everything has been sorted out. Puts the incessant grammatical mistakes here into perspective is suppose.
Lifes to shrt too bee corecting misteaks one da jurnal.
None of us are immune to grammatical errors, or indeed, typos, as “Puts the incessant grammatical mistakes here into perspective is suppose” would attest to. I assume that you meant “…. into perspective, I suppose?”
Lol. Yip!
Curse of the too-smart everywhere. BUT the mistake has been corrected.
All the same, the standard of writing on The Journal is pretty low all round. The ‘Opinion Pieces’ rarely rise above Junior Cert essay level. The incessant typos and grammatical mistakes compound the impression that the site is not as well organised as it might be and that the quality of the writing isn’t really an issue for whoever runs it.
That aside, the Polls are particularly poor (as is frequently pointed out). Whoever compiles them should take a course in how to put a basic poll together.
To be fair though, these “journalists” earn a crust from writing. I think the expectation that even the headlines of the articles are grammatically correct is not unreasonable. The whole effort seems amateurish..
I agree with everything you type, but at the end of the day I see the journal.ie as a source of comedy ( with an agenda), and that’s ok. Just don’t take everything at face value. Except Mark Zuckerberg – he’s legit.
@ Andrew. Wasn’t expecting a bear to jump in there.
The lotto is a tax on fools.
Yeah, everyone in the know knows that blackjack is where the big money is made.
I’d have to agree. The standard of English is poor. The “journalists” and most of the followers seem to have failed primary level English and confined their post-primary reading to page 3 in the Sun, “mate”. It’s progress of a kind though. 100 years after the 1916 Rising we’re now just illiterate in one language rather than two.
Hope they dont hold out on my € 15 million after tonights draw.
Play the lotto and support Canadian pensioners…
Solicitors = opportunistic parasites
Good luck with making a will or buying a house so
Do it myself mate. ..hate those filth bags
I’m sure solicitor is pleased..maybe “Argues and Fibs” company no pun intended
If there’s anymore problems with paying the money, I’ll gladly accept it.
“Issues” normally equals “crooks”.
There are issues with your tax returns Mister Trump.
This is a private does to the charity. Trying to cut corners and sneeky tactic to not pay the winner. Along with the thousands that have lost out in funding. i.e. social and sports clubs.
have your say