Penny Wong dismisses Nicolle Flint’s accusations that she and Tanya Plibersek failed to support her

Labor frontbencher Penny Wong says retiring Liberal MP Nicolle Flint is being “unfair” in criticising how Labor handled reports of harassment against her during the last election.

Key points:

Ms Flint last night broke down in tears in Parliament, describing harassment and stalking suffered during and after the 2019 election campaign.

She singled out Labor leader Anthony Albanese and Senator Wong for not speaking out about her treatment.

Senator Wong rejected any suggestion she was part of such a campaign.

“What happened to Ms Flint is utterly unacceptable — utterly unacceptable,” she said.

“It is also unfair of her to seek to tie me and Tanya Plibersek to it.”

Ms Flint represents the marginal South Australian electorate of Boothby and last month announced she was quitting politics at the next election.

The second-term MP has been vocal about the treatment she has faced since entering federal politics, including being targeted by a male stalker and having her campaign office defaced with graffitied words “skank” and “prostitute”.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. ‘This can’t be about politics anymore’: Liberal MP Nicolle Flint addresses House of Representatives.

During her speech to Parliament, she suggested the Opposition Leader and members of his frontbench should have openly defended her during the last election campaign.

“I ask the Leader of the Opposition, where was he and where was his predecessor and where were the senior Labor women when GetUp, Labor and the union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead-up to the 2019 election?”

She started to cry again as she accused the Opposition of failing to support her.

“What I say to the Labor Party today is they may not have held the spray can to vandalise my office with sexist slurs, they may not have held the camera pointed at me by the stalker, or called me evil in GetUp’s phone calls, but they did create the environment in which hate could flourish,” she said.

“I say to the Leader of the Opposition, this can’t be about politics anymore.

“We all bear the responsibility for change.”

Penny Wong says Nicolle Flint’s critique of her is unfair.(

ABC News: Ian Cutmore

)

Senator Wong said she would be happy to work through the issue with Ms Flint, but rejected any suggestion she was involved in Ms Flint’s treatment.

“Do you honestly believe that I would be part of a campaign of that kind of harassment and targeting of a woman? After all my years in public life and all the positions I have taken?” she said.

“So I would say to Ms Flint, rather than making these discussions in public and on Twitter, let’s have a discussion.”

Ms Flint’s campaign office was vandalised ahead of the 2019 federal election.(

Supplied

) Albanese rejects accusations he’s politicising women’s safety

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese hit back at the claim he was politicising women’s safety in failing to call out abuse against Liberal MPs.

“That’s a political comment from Nicolle Flint,” he said.

“The fact is, in terms of inappropriate behaviour, I call it out whenever I’m asked to do so, whenever I’m aware of it.”

Ms Flint’s electorate is held by the Liberals on a margin of just 1.4 per cent. While she is quitting politics, she has said she will continue to campaign on issues like endometriosis and stillbirth.

Hours before she spoke in the Parliament, Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek told the House she had only recently learned of the campaigning against Ms Flint.

“When I heard that the member for Boothby was retiring, I contacted her to tell her I regret that she’s leaving politics and I wish her the best,” Ms Plibersek said.

“I would like to see more Liberal women in this place, not fewer.”