Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has slammed increasingly \u201ccorrosive\u201d political debate in Australia less than six months out from a contentious state election after a \u201csexist\u201d campaign billboard was spotted in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
A billboard sporting the slogan \u201cDitch the Witch\u201d was spotted driving around the Melbourne CBD on Friday night, according to the Herald Sun. <\/p>\n
The slogan was previously used against former prime minister Julia Gillard amid fierce debate over the 2011 carbon tax, and comes after Ms Allan was targeted by a seperate, more crude slogan stating \u201cditch the b***h\u201d on a fire truck at a rally in 2025.<\/p>\n
Taking to social media to slam Friday\u2019s campaign, Ms Allan said \u201csexism just has no police in out political debate. Full stop\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are entitled to disagree with me. That\u2019s democracy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I care that this attacks women.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I care about who\u2019s next. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe political debate in this country has become corrosive over the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Allan claimed Friday\u2019s campaign was \u201cpart of a secret and well-funded political campaign\u201d. <\/p>\n
She said behaviour which \u201cwould once have been condemned\u201d was now \u201cjust another part of life\u201d, and alleged the media had failed to call it out. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey report on this like it\u2019s fair game, like it\u2019s normal. But nothing about this is normal,\u201d Ms Allan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t take a stand against this creeping culture, it has a tendency of taking over. You only have to look at America to know that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot stand back and let Victoria become a place where this sort of language is fair game against any woman at work \u2013 or any woman in leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t draw a line, the line will keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Allan said she wanted her children to grow up knowing that \u201cwomen deserve the same respect as men\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want girls to know that they should never need to aim lower just to feel safer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, I want boys to know that they don\u2019t have to put women \u2018in their place\u2019 to make their own way in the world. Sexism hurts everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Allan, who took over from controversial ex-premier Daniel Andrews in 2023, faces a tough fight when voters return to the polls in November amid falling popularity, controversy around infrastructure and crime, and a surge in support for One Nation. <\/p>\n
The Bendigo MP has faced questions over the future of her leadership in recent days.<\/p>\n