Out-spoken former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has hit out at the Prime Minister, calling him “unauthentic” and accusing him of being more interested in maintaining power than running the country.
The activist and advocate for survivors of child sexual assault was a guest speaker during Adelaide Writers' Week where she addressed hundreds of eager listeners on Wednesday afternoon.
Revellers of all ages and genders spilled over the seats, sitting on the grass floor and a nearby hill just to get a glimpse of Tame.
She was joined by investigative journalist and author of ‘Quarterly Essay 84: The Reckoning: How #MeToo is Changing Australia’ Jess Hill.
As the Adelaide Writers’ Week Director Jo Dyer opened the talk, she began to explain how the #MeToo movement began, mentioning producer Harvey Weinstein.
It prompted Tame, 27, to stick her fingers in her mouth motioning to vomit which made much of the crowd laugh.
She was later questioned about working with the federal government, where she rolled her eyes in response.
Tame said she was “politically naive” when she first became Australian of the Year.
“I do want to work with people on all sides — I’m actually apolitical — and I believe in putting differences aside in the spirit of progress … especially when it comes to the abuse of children,” she said.
“But a certain person is not authentic to say the least.”
She said she remained determined to do the work needed for the Grace Tame Foundation and work with everyone because “the goal is more important that anything else”.
“But we’ve found certain people and groups are more concerned with maintaining power and control than running the country.
“I don’t want that to be the case. That’s the sad truth.”
Tame then said she also received a “threatening” phone call from an unnamed person who told her they wouldn’t support her foundation if she said anything bad about Scott Morrison.
Ms Hill then responded and said there were other foundations or sectors that couldn’t speak up because they received government funding and relied on that financial support.
“It pains the people in those positions,” she said.
“What Grace has done seems so outrageous to some people because they’re not used to hearing it.
“Everyone else has been trying to keep the water submerging, keep enough government funding to the whole thing doesn’t go under.”
An emotional Tame told the crowd of how she stood up to her abuser four days before she went to the police, telling him he was “a monster”, “pure evil” and that she hated him for what he did to her and his own children.
“I pointed finger at him, crying my eyes out. I started yelling and screaming and I told him what I thought for the first time.
“I was terrified when I did this but… this (story) is what I remember whenever I think I can't do something — like frown at the Prime Minister.
“My fear of upsetting the applecart died that day and it sure as hell died publicly standing next to Scott Morrison.”
Ms Tame recently joined forced with Brittany Higgins, former Australia Post executive Christine Holgate and other prominent women to launch a new campaign for equal pay and an end to injustice and inequity for women and children.
