A travel industry boss has taken out the top dishonour in the satirical Ernie Awards for sexist behaviour, after suggesting a female journalist needed to be given a "firm uppercut or a slap across the face".
Former Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Jayson Westbury received the gold Ernie on Thursday night for comments about A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw following her reporting on a travel industry refund scandal.
Students at Sydney's prestigious Shore school, rugby player Israel Folau, men's rights activist Bettina Arndt, and One Nation's leader Pauline Hanson and Senator Malcolm Roberts were also named in the awards.
The annual Ernie Awards began in 1993 and are handed out to those who make comments deemed misogynistic.
Mr Westbury resigned from his position earlier this year after reportedly telling an event: "Tracy Grimshaw needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face, and I mean that virtually, of course, I wouldn’t want to invoke any violence on anyone".
Students at the Shore school, meanwhile, recently made headlines after a document emerged indicating a disturbing scavenger hunt had been planned by a group of Year 12 students.
The document, which was obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald, included tasks such as kissing a girl under the age of 15 and an "Asian chick", having sex with a woman who weighs over 80kg and spitting on a homeless man.
Senator Roberts received an Ernie for comments he made on the family law system, while Folau was named for claiming that bushfires were God's punishment for legalising abortion and same-sex marriage.
Senator Hanson and Ms Arndt tied for an award for "remarks least helpful to the sisterhood".
Senator Hanson, who was selected to co-chair a parliamentary inquiry into family law, suggested that a lot of women abused the system by instigating false domestic violence orders.
Ms Arndt's comments related to the murders of Queensland mother Hannah Clarke and her three children. The men's rights advocate congratulated police for "keeping an open mind" about the possibility that Ms Clarke's estranged husband and killer may have been "driven too far".
The Council of the Order of Australia was also named in this year's Ernies for the controversial decision to award Ms Arndt for her "significant service to the community as a social commentator and to gender equity through advocacy for men".
There were calls earlier this year for Ms Arndt to be stripped of the OAM, but the council determined that she would hold on to the award following a review.
