Why Radio Host Was Sacked Over Australia PM Interview

A radio presenter has been sacked
in Australia for asking Prime
Minister Julia Gillard in a live
interview if her partner is gay.
Howard Sattler suggested to Ms
Gillard that her partner of seven
years, Tim Mathieson, had to be
homosexual because he was a
hairdresser.
Ms Gillard characterised his
comments as an absurd
generalisation.
The DJ was suspended and then
sacked by Fairfax Radio, which
apologised for the "disrespectful"
questioning.
'Put off' Fairfax Radio said initially
that Mr Sattler had been suspended
from his position at Perth-based 6PR
pending an internal inquiry and
issued an apology statement.
"Fairfax Radio management has
reviewed this interview and
considers that the questions posed
by Mr Sattler were disrespectful and
irrelevant to the political debate," it
said.
"The PM answered Mr Sattler's
questions with dignity and some
patience."
The station's general manager then
announced on air on Friday
afternoon that Mr Sattler had been
sacked.
Australia's Sex Discrimination
Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick
told the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation that many women in
public office faced a "significant
demeaning attitude, sexist questions,
invasive questioning".
"It's got to stop because we want
women in public office, we want
women to step up and be part of a
decision-making of this country...
[but] women and young women are
put off by what they see."
Ms Gillard on Friday echoed those
comments.
''I want young girls and women to be
able to feel like they can be included
in public life and not have to face
questioning like the questioning I
faced yesterday,'' she said.