PM should stop using gender card: Abbott

10 Oct 2012, 7:30 pm   -   Source: AAP

Tony Abbott says it's time for Labor to stop playing the 'gender card' and that he'll continue to criticise the prime minister when she's wrong.

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Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says he won't be retreating from his criticism of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and called on Labor to stop playing the gender card.

Ms Gillard on Tuesday accused Mr Abbott in parliament of having a record of sexism and misogyny.

The comments came in a debate over whether to sack Speaker Peter Slipper, who is facing court action by a former male staffer over alleged sexual harassment.

Mr Abbott said the attack was "a bit rich" coming from the person who was "prepared to knife Kevin Rudd, but wasn't prepared to sack Peter Slipper".

The prime minister should be prepared to accept fair criticism.

"Just because the prime minister has sometimes been the victim of unfair criticism doesn't mean she can dismiss any criticism as sexism or she can dismiss any criticism on gender grounds," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

He said he would always criticise the prime minister when she did the wrong thing, as she had done in "leading the Peter Slipper defence team".

Mr Abbott, in his speech on Tuesday, described the government under Ms Gillard as "dying of shame", echoing a much-condemned line used by broadcaster Alan Jones to describe the prime minister's late father.

The opposition leader told reporters it was a reference to the government and "no-one else".

"This phrase has been used by me on at least 17 separate occasions before yesterday, including in a national address," he said, adding the last thing he wanted to do was cause offence to anyone.

"But I was completely oblivious when I was making that speech to comments that other people might have made, which were very different and have been universally condemned, including by me."

It was time for Labor to "stop hyperventilating" about the broadcaster's comment, for which Jones and 2GB had apologised and paid a high price.

"We are a robust democracy. We are a place where opposition leaders, prime ministers, ministers and shadow ministers should be judged on their record, should be judged on their deeds, not on their gender," Mr Abbott said.

The father of three daughters said he wanted his children to be judged on "what they do" rather than their gender.

"I think it is time everyone in this parliament moved on from the gender card which so many members of the government have been playing," he said.

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