Poltics
In the aftermath of the arrest and charging of broadcaster Alan Jones, many public figures formerly associated to him earn elected to take care of their dangle counsel. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Liberal-affiliated business Maurice Newman, and outdated college PMs John Howard and Tony Abbott earn all elected to take care of aloof on the allegations.
One insight into unhurried-the-scenes conversations has plot with the leaking of a WhatsApp neighborhood known as “Restoring Your Liberal Social gathering”. Responding to the news of the arrest, outdated college Liberal Social gathering vp Teena McQueen mentioned “It’s absolute bullshit”, and promised to scuttle on “on any defamatory feedback, [Jones has] been thru ample.”
This, it seems, is somewhat tender by McQueen’s standards. Indeed, she’s one in every of the most baffling minor characters in Australian politics.
Veep
Even supposing it took roughly nine months for the shock to properly land (more on why later), it used to be a surprise to many when McQueen jostled her solution to the role of Liberal Social gathering VP in June 2018. As David Crowe later establish it within the 9 papers, McQueen “used to be the no longer in all probability winner from a wrong exercise in energy by the offended faction of a divided gathering, where a pair of factional heavies were so distinct to raise one in every of their dangle that they shrugged off the injury to the broader celebration”.
It used to be broadly speculated on the time that McQueen had been installed to replace the outdated holder of the build of work, moderate Trish Price, as retribution for Price’s description of outdated college prime minister (and McQueen ally) Tony Abbott as a “spoiler”. It used to be from this exulted perch that McQueen made her most indelible contribution to Australian politics.
Utter me QandA, QandA, QandA
Honest imagine what it takes to accumulate your self described because the “worst panellist in Q+A history“. Set in tips the weirdness, the dissembling, the outrages and the gaffes one has to clamber over to try this summit. In March 2019, McQueen managed it, and spot forth the flurry of questions as to how (short of dodging up a business card) she had earned the title of Liberal Social gathering VP.
No longer up to a fortnight after an Australian had murdered greater than 50 people in a mosque in Christchurch for explicitly racist causes, McQueen devoted mighty of her Q+A appearance to explicitly and implicitly defending the shameful facet of the argument, accusing then Greens leader Richard Di Natale of unspecified “hate speech” that used to be worse than dumped One Nation senator Fraser Anning blaming the massacre on its victims.
Adding a graceless demonstrate to her tone-deaf efficiency, McQueen used to be unable to discover anything of then NZ PM Jacinda Ardern, on the time receiving world acclaim for her handling of the taking pictures aftermath, numerous than to explain she used to be “copying” John Howard’s gun take care of an eye fixed on reforms. It elicited groans from the studio viewers and presumably from senior Liberals, who got right here out to “disown” McQueen within the times that followed.
Higgins joke misses the tag
In early 2021, because the Brittany Higgins saga forced a reckoning on the medication of women in Australian politics, McQueen added yet every other doozy to her yarn of expertly finding out rooms by reportedly joking to a closed-door assembly that she “would atomize to be sexually stressed for the time being”, and that there wishes to be more discussion about “women no longer getting under the impact of alcohol at work”. McQueen denied the usage of “those real words”.
Exceptional Ado Abbott Nothing
Nonetheless McQueen isn’t appropriate cross at representing the Liberal Social gathering, she’s additionally cross at running campaigns. At some level of the 2019 federal election, McQueen worked on Abbott’s insular and locked-down Warringah advertising campaign. In a seat he had held with out extreme bother for 25 years, Abbot suffered an 18% swing against him, losing to self reliant Zali Steggall and ushering within the Teal self reliant era.
Finish the Teal
Crowe’s review that McQueen’s elevation used to be accomplished heedless of the health of the broader celebration proved prescient. After the drubbing the Liberals obtained in 2022, thanks to socially revolutionary independents scooping out the celebration’s heartland seats with the efficiency of a grapefruit spoon, McQueen wasn’t troubled. She advised the CPAC Australia convention later that year that “the supreme thing in regards to the final federal election is numerous those lefties are long gone. We might possibly earn to peaceful rejoice in that”.
“Of us I’ve been seeking to accumulate rid of for a decade earn long gone, we resolve to renew with right conservative candidates.” Over yet again, her colleagues known as on her to resign.
The finish of the avenue
In June 2023, Liberal moderates and “many conservatives” united to dam McQueen from being reelected to the celebration’s federal executive.
Victorian Liberal resolve Sali Miftari advised the 9 papers that the celebration had “taken the decisive step to reject Teena McQueen’s divisive, out of contact and frankly shameful (and now failed) advertising campaign to affix the federal executive of our celebration”.
“It is going to additionally work passed over, but it’s crucial.”
How blissful Miftari resolve on to be with Liberal’s excellent and grounded campaigning since.
Shot to the Rinehart
McQueen has since discovered a authentic dwelling, and no query a gorgeous bit of political well-liked ground, with mining billionaire Gina Rinehart. This will surprise no-one to listen to that, in that ability, she used to be considered residing it up at Donald Trump’s publish-election celebrations earlier this month. Given McQueen’s outdated defence of Trump, and Rinehart’s prolonged-time fandom of the once and future US president, this is potentially a dwelling to peep.
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