Libs disgusted with Tuckey over sick Belinda Neal joke

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18 Sep 06:01am

Filed under: Belinda Neal, John Della Bosca, Malcolm Turnbull, Politics, Wilson Tuckey

Maverick Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey is being branded “disgusting” and “a disgrace” by his own colleagues after using Question Time yesterday to pass around a photograph making fun of Labor MP Belinda Neal over the infidelity of her husband John Della Bosca - with Tuckey even presenting the photograph to the Speaker to see if it could be used as a prop during Question Time.

Just jokes: Ironbar's colleagues no longer think so.

In response to the use of photographs as props by Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese - who has taunted the Coalition by showing images of stimulus spending announcements at community meetings - Tuckey arrived at Question Time yesterday with a still image from a Channel Nine news bulletin of Belinda Neal’s electorate office on the NSW Central Coast.

The image focusses on a laundromat next door to Ms Neal’s office with a sign reading “Drop Your Pants Here” - which Tuckey was using as a comical reference to the recent admission of infidelity by Ms Neal’s husband, NSW State Labor MP and former NSW Labor secretary John Della Bosca.

At the end of Question Time, Tuckey placed the image inside an envelope and presented it to the Speaker, formally requesting an adjudication from him as to whether the photograph could be used in Parliament.

While Tuckey regarded the episode as a joke and argued he was trying to draw attention to Labor’s use of props, other Liberals said they were fed up with his conduct. In the past month Tuckey has labelled Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull “arrogant and inexperienced” and spoken out almost daily against his leader’s stance on climate change.

But Liberal MPs told The Punch they thought Tuckey’s effort yesterday was in especially poor taste as it ridiculed two people over their marital problems.

“There are a lot of people in the Liberal Party who are totally disgusted by his behaviour today,” one MP told The Punch last night.

“Even by Wilson’s standards this was beyond the pale. None of us really like Belinda Neal but this is totally out of line after what she has been going through, no-one should have anything other than sympathy for her. It’s a clear sign that Wilson really is just a disgrace and hasn’t got anything to offer the party.”

The added element of Tuckey’s tastelessness is its time-wasting quality - the Speaker must now examine the photograph presented by Tuckey and report back in two weeks’ time as to whether it is parliamentary and can be used in the chamber. Not that any of his fellow MPs want it to be.

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38 comments

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- xiaoecho says:
  
  07:15am | 18/09/09
  
  I laughed…......but it’s completely inappropriate in the chamber
  
  Reply
- RosscO says:
  
  08:34am | 18/09/09
  
  Well, I thought it was very funny and I’m not usually a big fan of Wilson Tuckey’s.
  
  Reply
- Des Crawley says:
  
  08:42am | 18/09/09
  
  What do you expect from Tuckey? Why would anyone be surprised he would stoop so low as to make fun of someone caught up in a deep personal crisis not of her making. He is a wonderful example of all that is wrong with the conservative side of politics at the moment. He is insensitive, opportunist, unprincipled and profoundly out of touch with the vast majority of the mainstream polity. He is not so much an embarrassment as a sad comment on what happens when a political party is rendered impotent by its own incompetence. The fastest way Turnbull’s stature as leader would be enhanced is to get rid of these relics from the past. He has a number of them all milking the system for what it is worth (Costello and Ruddick, to name but two). The irony of this situation is as apparent as it is manifestly hypocritical given the claims conservatives make about the opposite side of politics. But it is a sad state of affairs as a democracy can only thrive with a powerful opposition that has the respect of the polity. Tuckey does not seem to have any comprehension of this. In fact I suspect he has no comprehension at all. However, he is not a hypocrite. To be one of those you have to have or espouse some principles in the first place.
  
  Reply
- Margaret says:
  
  09:02am | 18/09/09
  
  What will it take to get this sleazy, violent, unfunny bully to go away. & he is so psychologically impaired he will even enjoy the negative comments about his despicable behaviour. It speaks volumes about the conservative party, that they continue to facilitate this moron. I cannot believe that civilized, intelligent humans such as Turnbull would not cringe at the antics of this ugliest of Australians…..or maybe I am wrong. I wait for the day that he will no longer be there to shame us all
  
  Reply
- Wayne says:
  
  09:22am | 18/09/09
  
  Come now Des and Margaret!
  You don’t think labor pull the same idiotic stunts!
  Lets just have a quick look at QLD State Government as of yesterday. Now that was disgusting and a complete waste of tax payers dollars. Is that how Bligh believes Question time should be spent? Photo’s of the Oposition leader clutching a teddy bear in his uni days. Oh I forgot Ms Bligh didn’t breath it in did she when she was at uni.
  The whole lot of them make me sick to the stomach so please don’t portray this as just a Lib/Nat stunt of stupidity. They all do it…
  
  Reply
- PJ says:
  
  09:21am | 18/09/09
  
  Who cares. He’s irrelevant. It’s time the media stopped giving him oxygen. He has no influence over anything - including his cerebral cortex.
  
  Reply
- Charles says:
  
  09:22am | 18/09/09
  
  This is further evidence of the intellect, propriety & high moral standards which our elected officials bring to the house. God bless the Speaker, as he maintains the etiquette & standards in the lower house over the balance of this Parliament’s term -
  
  Reply
- Margaret says:
  
  09:30am | 18/09/09
  
  yawn Wayne…you are right PJ he is an oxygen thief..it’s a great day & i am going out to enjoy it…without the horrible Wilson, Kyle or any other asinine moron this country can dredge up.
  
  Reply
- Steve S says:
  
  09:30am | 18/09/09
  
  You can always rely on Tuckey and Heffernan to say and do the most inappropriate things albeit I do find them occasionally amusing. To me though, this just illustrates that Parliament both federal and state, particularly is just woftam. Nothing of significance ever really seems to be achieved and I can’t really see the point of all sides taking pot shots at one another. I’m sure there must be an occasion but I can’t recall of late when anything of significance was achieved during question time.
  
  Reply
- iansand says:
  
  09:40am | 18/09/09
  
  Any nominees for the ALP’s mad uncle? Let’s make this bipartisan.
  
  Reply
- Daniel says:
  
  09:47am | 18/09/09
  
  What a joke. I hate the ALP too and the Member for Robertson Neal is a waste of oxygen in my view but using that against her is a real sick thing to do. I think he has gone mad really he needs help. Noone takes him seriously and he is a huge burden on the tax payer if he isnt doing his job and is not doing what he is paid to do. Get rid of him.
  
  Reply
- Faul Kinell says:
  
  09:49am | 18/09/09
  
  Wilson Tuckey is an absolute goose and only the tip of the iceberg in the big house crop of idiots!
  
  Reply
- delperro says:
  
  09:49am | 18/09/09
  
  I just love this sentence: “Even by Wilson’s standards this was beyond the pale”
  
  Reply
- Jake the Muss says:
  
  10:00am | 18/09/09
  
  I LULZ’D.
  
  Incidentally, when an anonymous MP says that many unnamed MPs don’t like a fellow MP, it usually means ‘I found one other person who agreed with me and am going to pretend that that equals majority opinion’.
  
  I’m sure many Coalition MPs don’t like Tuckey. He does speak out against his leader, which is the job of the backbencher. The Coalition abandoned individual conscience in favour of ALPesque caucus solidarity a long time ago. They are poorer for it, but due to their own lack of principle, anything outside the usual ‘we love the leader’ brainwashed droning, is labelled as CHAOS CHAOS CHAOS IN THE PARTY ROOM!
  
  http://www.pimpinforfreedom.wordpress.com
  
  Reply
- Julia says:
  
  10:13am | 18/09/09
  
  But it is funny. Forget that Wilson was the one who tried to use it and how he tried to use it. If you guys had used it, it would have been a scream. Right?
  
  Reply
- Madcyril says:
  
  10:20am | 18/09/09
  
  Well, I think Paul Keating was on the money. This is his how Keating described Wilson Tuckey in Parliament in 1986 after Tuckey taunted him over events in his personal life - “You stupid foul-mouthed grub. You piece of criminal garbage..” He then went on to describe Tuckey as “a dog returning to his vomit” in 1990. And people think Parliament is out of control now!
  
  Reply
- RT says:
  
  10:29am | 18/09/09
  
  I don’t go along with the general reaction on this one. Tuckey’s intended stunt was in questionable taste and not very funny but no big deal. If anyone was hurt, it was mainly him. The over-reaction to this is more of the community sookiness that we see recently, such as in response to the antics of Kyle Sandilands or Sam Newman. A media figure, politician or celebrity says or does something offensive to the apparently heightened sensitivities of people who write in, or comment to, the media and there is a 2-day storm of reaction to fill part of the media’s needs for that day or two.
  
  Reply
- Chis says:
  
  10:31am | 18/09/09
  
  It’s time to clear out the Liberal back bench.
  
  Reply
- Bob H says:
  
  10:41am | 18/09/09
  
  I quite like a loose cannon going off in a sea of grey, back-scratching, trough suckers. Keep up the good work Mr Tuckey how about peeing in the trough.
  
  Reply
- watty says:
  
  10:44am | 18/09/09
  
  Yes I too miss the elegance and the decorum of the Keating “wit”.
  
  “Senate swill” was one of the least offensive.
  
  The Tuckey stunt had been shown to millions of TV viewers well before he raised it in Parliament yet I didn’t see or hear any Labot luvvies protesting then.
  
  If this ahd been a Labor effort at the expense of either of the Bishops Labor would be laughing in the aisles.
  
  Reply
- Al says:
  
  10:51am | 18/09/09
  
  Why was it ok when this photo went up as a joke on a number of Australian media sites?
  
  I hate hypocrites.
  
  @Madcyril - Keatings spleen is no better than Tuckey. It is funny how Keating’s bile is considered brilliant and Tuckey’s juxtaposition is considered vile.
  
  I happen to think both are pretty juvenile - how about the same consistency from the rest of you.
  
  Reply
- Billymac says:
  
  10:58am | 18/09/09
  
  I think Belinda Neal and Wilson Tuckey make a perfect couple. I mean, they’re made for each other. They could share vitriol baths and together lift ill-tempered tirades to unheard of heights. Seriously, she should leave Dela in peace and create an unholy union with Wilson. Imagine the kids….. oh my God: maybe it isnt such a good idea.
  
  Reply
- S says:
  
  11:17am | 18/09/09
  
  “What will it take to get this sleazy, violent, unfunny bully to go away. & he is so psychologically impaired he will even enjoy the negative comments about his despicable behaviour. It speaks volumes about the conservative party” Wow what a line..
  Didnt Neale hiss at a pregnant woman that her unborn child would be a demon? Abuse a waiter because they didnt know who she was? Kick another woman who was on the ground playing soccer?
  + defends the Labor party who now has convicted peodphiles as ex ministers and has dodgy links to men who get shot down in the street.
  
  Reply
- Chris says:
  
  11:17am | 18/09/09
  
  Between this and the piece about Langbroek its safe to say Penbos having a pick on oddball Liberals day
  I am probably alone in saying this but I think old ironbar is an asset to parliament. Having diverse representation in parliament is so important so the place doesnt get overrun with out of touch ellites. Afterall someone has to stand up for wacko country pubowners.
  
  Reply
- Keith says:
  
  11:18am | 18/09/09
  
  Mr Tuckey appears to be waiting to find a space on the moving diminished exposure deprivation merry-go-round, one recently vacated by another politician who’s had their 5 minutes worth on their pre-stamped political ticket to ride. He ought to watch his step up, it can be hazardous for an older bloke. Best he doesn’t follow PC (that’s Political Celebrity), watch for a copy at your news stand or check-out, next to No Idea. Mr Tuckey could well segway to Q&A, watch for the announcement.
  
  Reply
- Susan says:
  
  11:52am | 18/09/09
  
  Is south-western WA really that much of a talent vacuum for the Liberal Party that they can’t find anyone to challenge Tuckey? He is crass so often, had the disrespect to storm out of parliament just before the apology to the Stolen Generation, can be seen dissing people on all sides but never has anything productive to contribute, and at 74 is well past retirement age and not likely to be a key figure in any future Coalition Government. If you’re looking for MPs to replace for party regeneration, he must be top of the list.
  
  I don’t like Belinda Neal (famous in my books for being the Labor candidate who “wasn’t supposed to win”) and am happy to see her lambasted for Iguanagate and all that, but she is the victim in her husband’s affair (and not the floozy who was the mistress, who likes to believe she was). Neal should be left alone on this one.
  
  Reply
- Sam Chowder says:
  
  11:57am | 18/09/09
  
  Mr Tuckey is just trying to get on Celebrity Chef
  
  Reply
- Yon Toad says:
  
  12:17pm | 18/09/09
  
  We pay these eedjits to hurl abuse at each other and then we come over all precious when one of em takes a shot at a couple of political party hacks. WOFTAM indeed - the real problem is it’s only their T but, it’s our M that the buggers are getting fat on.
  
  Reply
- xiaoecho says:
  
  12:19pm | 18/09/09
  
  Ah, Madcyril no-one does it better than Paul. He makes Tuckey look like a sunday amateur.
  
  Reply
- Drew says:
  
  01:48pm | 18/09/09
  
  What I can’t believe about this, or the comments in response to this, is that not one single person has asked WHY the hell are we paying taxes to MPs to waste time like this? Is this what Mr Tuckey is employed by the electorate for!?
  
  Fat cats like this sit long enough in parliament and they lose sight of the fact that they are actually employed as public servants to do a job. Yes, even the ones in opposition are EMPLOYED by the taxpayers to do “a job”.
  
  The fact that we accept this inane political tossing as “the norm” is reflected by the fact that the political pundits who frequent this site are so focused on the inane political tossing that not one has mentioned giving a rats that our tax money is thoroughly wasted on employing MPs like this.
  
  Reply
- AT says:
  
  02:02pm | 18/09/09
  
  RT@09:29am
  
  Yes, it probably is more about “community sookiness” than anything else, but that’s exactly how it should be. Knuckleheads like Tuckey, Sandilands, Newman, etc, etc, etc, are public figures, one way or another sucking on the “community” teat. When they unleash their infantile imbecility they’re not in the relative privacy of the pub or the exclusive enclave of a comedy club, they’re posturing on the “community’s” premier soapbox.
  
  That’s my venue. Yours too. It’s my right, maybe even my responsibility, to heckle trash and your right, should you be so inclined, to cheer. But to dismiss it as an “over-reaction” by the audience is cowardly.
  
  Pardon the cutesy-pie language, but this is how community standards are set, though a vigorous exchange of ideas. What’s the alternative to “over-reacting”? Say nothing, ignore it? Disregard your own values and principles allowing whoever has the loudest voice or greatest resources decree the standards of society?
  
  That would be gutless. Just like the Liberal party has been gutless in regard to Wilson Tuckey. For so long now, they’ve not “over-reacted” to the obscenity of Tuckey that it’s reasonable to assume they don ‘t object, right? And as he’s so outspoken and passionate and because no contrary views are expressed with as much statue, his antics must be the benchmark of distinguished behaviour, yeah?
  
  I agree when you say “Tuckey’s intended stunt was in questionable taste and not very funny but no big deal”, but he needs to be told that he’s an objectionable prick and that his squalid vaudeville act is not appreciated, otherwise he’ll continue commandeering bandwidth for his performances at the expense of more important issues and a worthy opposition.
  
  Reply
- Iron douche says:
  
  02:05pm | 18/09/09
  
  While I agree that old Iron bar is one of the most repugnant and feral MP’s Australian politics has ever witnessed, I for one hope that he hangs around for another couple of terms. While his raceist, classless and generally moronic antics seem to go over rather well in his own electorate, ultimately he helps the government more than any Labor MP ever could by causing such widespread disgust just about everywhere else in the country. It sometimes appears to me that Tuckey is the best mole that Labor has ever managed to sneak into the Liberal party. So keep up the good work Wilson, your the best assest the government has got!
  
  Reply
- RT says:
  
  03:10pm | 18/09/09
  
  I might JUST agree with you, AT, if I didn’t have a suspicion that alone, face to face with Tuckey you wouldn’t have the guts to say to him what you’ve so boldly said in print. You sound like the type who prefers the sook’s bandwagon of forums such as this.
  
  And this: given that Tuckey was refused permission by the Speaker for his stunt, just how has all this confected outrage here and wherever else achieved anything other than providing a sense of superiority for those who think they are helping set ‘community standards’.? I wouldn’t be surprised if Tuckey is delighted with the publicity and thinking up his next stunt.
  
  Reply
- Bailey's Mother says:
  
  03:12pm | 18/09/09
  
  Perhaps it’s time for Uncle Wilson to accept a permanent position as tour leader with those cruises for old folk he was hosting last year.
  
  Reply
- Colin Campbell says:
  
  03:24pm | 18/09/09
  
  Just tell him to Tuckey his pants in .
  
  Reply
- Shane says:
  
  05:03pm | 18/09/09
  
  What is the oldest age of the Labor representatives at the moment. This is just blatant ageism. Anybody over 40 is senile in their eyes.
  
  Reply
- AT says:
  
  06:19pm | 18/09/09
  
  RT, I’ve no idea whether I’d have the guts to say the same thing to Tuckey “alone, face to face”, but what if I did? Would my opinions have greater validity because I engaged in that grotesque spectacle?
  
  I suspect you admire Tuckey and his antics and perhaps you feel too intimidated by the general consensus here to say so explicitly. That’d be a shame, because your opinion may contain insights that make those of us sooking it up on the bandwagon reassess our opinion, help fine tune our judgement of Tuckey.
  
  Whether driven by sense of superiority or just a sense of common decency, when I’m affronted by the boorish antics of Tuckey I will express my disapproval in whatever forum I can, because to stay silent is to legitimise his idiocy and helps establish his form of “debate” as the norm.
  
  I’m better than that. Aren’t you?
  
  Reply
- Soxy says:
  
  06:27pm | 18/09/09
  
  Come on - how bogus is all this poo hooing of poor old Wilie. Bit of a lark, bit of a giggle - when did we put any pollie on any issue of limits? Is anyone suggesting that there is a scale upon which our pollies can be rated? They have chosen to be in the public eye, suck on the public teet, take the Queen’s Shilling, and hog the limelight when it swings their way. Anyway, this is just shock-jock politics to help justify Wilie killing time while his super ticks along.
  
  Reply