“Australia outback mayor wins annual sexist award”

From Reuters we get this story of love lost in the outback.

Australia outback mayor wins annual sexist award

CANBERRA (Reuters) – An Australian outback mayor’s plea for lovelorn female “ugly ducklings” to move to a remote mining town to reverse a shortage of eligible women has won him the country’s yearly award for outrageous sexism.

Mount Isa Mayor John Malony infuriated women in August with a suggestion that “with five blokes to every girl, may I suggest that beauty-disadvantaged women should proceed to Mount Isa,” in northwest Queensland state.

“I think the message is ever vigilant, ever watchful, keeping people, keeping blokes on their toes and making sure that we name and shame them,” annual Ernies’ award organizer and lawmaker Meredith Burgmann told state radio.

The annual awards have 10 categories and are decided by the level of boos, jeers and stamping of feet at women’s-only event held at the New South Wales state parliament in Sydney.

A few more good reads about this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Awards

http://www.bigpond.com/news/breaking/content/20081121/2426286.asp

Which has this pitcure of the group’s leader, Yvette Andrews,as her alter ego.

There is also the entire list of this years winners courtesy of New Zealand One.

Golden Ernie – John Molony, Mayor, Mount Isa, for saying “The protesters are blaming me for their looks,” after suggesting lovelorn “beauty-disadvantaged” women move to Mt Isa to find a man.
 
Political – Troy Buswell, Western Australia opposition leader, now minister – for snapping the bra of a female staffer, making sexist remarks to a Liberal MP, and sniffing the chair of a Liberal staffer.
 
Media – John Westacoff, for making the comment “Sheilas do health and consumer stories, you want your blokes, your main guns, doing the real news stories,” on Network Nine. Network Nine shared the award for continuing to employ Westacoff.

Industrial - Professor Mark Wooden, University of Melbourne, for saying “The pay equity gap has got a lot to do with the fact that women are not prepared to work longer hours,” at a discussion dominated by women.
 
Sport (The Warney) – Network Nine’s Sam Newman, for saying “Women on AFL boards are just there to placate the bleating majority who are liars and hypocrites,” and for grabbing the crotch of a cardboard cut-out of a model with sports journalist Caroline Wilson’s head attached.

Judicial - Solicitor Roland Day, for his comment about a 13-year-old witness in a sexual assault case: “Never at any stage did this witness show upset, exhaustion or stress, in fact in my full opinion, there was a level of enjoyment at the attention.”
 
Clerical – Archbishop Peter Jenson for his comment: “The consecration of women bishops is against biblical teaching,” shared with the Reverend Mark Driscoll, who said “Pastors sometimes stray because their wives let themselves go.”
 
The Elaine award, for remarks least helpful to the sisterhood – Sophie Mirabella MP, who told deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard “You won’t need his (Prime Minister Kevin Rudd) tax payer funded nanny will you?”
 
The Good Ernie award (for boys behaving better) – Brendan Cannon, rugby player, for saying: “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 lifetime.”
 
 The award was shared with the Veolia transport company for requesting an exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act, so it could exclusively employ women drivers “because women are better drivers and gentler on the buses.”

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