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Why I refused to shake Scott Morrison’s hand: Sports scientist reveals why she folded her arms when PM crashed the dressing rooms after a match and said she’s proud of her actions
- Scott Morrison crashed the Parrmatta Eels’ dressing room on Saturday night
- He shook hands with players and congratulated them as they enjoyed their win
- Eels sport scientist Tahleya Eggers crossed her arms and refused to shake hands
- She said she has no respect for Mr Morrison after he snubbed women’s marches
An NRL sports scientist who went viral after she refused to shake Scott Morrison‘s has revealed she snubbed the prime minister because he failed to attend women’s justice marches earlier this month.
Mr Morrison crashed the Parrmatta Eels’ dressing room on Saturday night shortly after the team’s victory over the Cronulla Sharks at Bankwest Stadium.
Camera crews captured Mr Morrison shaking hands with players and congratulating them as they celebrated their win.
But club staffer Tahleya Eggers stole the spotlight by defiantly crossing her arms and refusing to engage with the prime minister, while glaring at him from the corner of the room.
Eels sport scientist Tahleya Eggers (top right) defiantly crossed her arms and refused to engage with the prime minister after he snubbed women’s equality marches earlier this month
Mr Morrison crashed the Parrmatta Eels’ dressing room on Saturday night shortly after the team’s victory over the Cronulla Sharks at Bankwest Stadium
The criticism of the prime minister comes two days after he said he was happy to meet with former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins, who was allegedly raped in Parliament House
‘Proud to claim this one!’ Ms Eggers wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of the encounter.
‘I will not respect a man who has the time to shake hands of men who have won a football match but is ‘too busy’ to attend the March for Justice.’
Former Eels star Brad Takairangi commented on the post: ‘Gettem Tahleya,’ while Federal Labor MP Peta Murphy shared the post with a strength emoji.
Thousands of women protested in capital cities on March 15 as part of the ‘March 4 Justice’ campaign following a month of turmoil in parliament over the treatment of women and workplace culture.
Labor criticised Mr Morrison for not attending the Canberra rally – but he said he invited organisers to meet in his office and they refused.
The criticism of the prime minister comes two days after he said he was happy to meet with former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins, who was allegedly raped in Parliament House by a colleague.
‘We’ve always sought to respect her privacy and her wishes on this,’ he said on Friday.
‘I could also appreciate why she wouldn’t necessarily meet in Parliament House, that would be totally understandable.
‘We can arrange to meet in other cities.’
Mr Morrison has been criticised for his tone-deaf response to a national debate about the treatment of women
Labor criticised Mr Morrison for not attending the Canberra rally – but he said he invited organisers to meet in his office and they refused
He said Ms Higgins had not expressed an interest in meeting with him but has since said she did not know that was on offer.
‘I was never made aware that the Prime Minister was willing to discuss my concerns about how my assault was handled,’ she said in a statement to Nine News.
‘I welcome the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister to discuss how the workplace culture in Parliament House can be improved.’
Mr Morrison has been criticised for his tone-deaf response to a national debate about the treatment of women.
The conversation was sparked by Ms Higgins coming forward last month to allege she was raped by a colleague in 2019.
There have since been rape accusations levelled at Attorney-General Christian Porter, which he denies, and revelations of a toxic workplace culture in Parliament House.
Thousands of women protested in capital cities on March 15 as part of the ‘March 4 Justice’ campaign following a month of turmoil in parliament over the treatment of women and workplace culture
The horrific allegations have engulfed the Morrison government and started a wider debate about sexual discrimination, harassment and abuse.
The prime minister has admitted repeatedly failing in his tin-eared response to the national movement and conceded he failed to grasp the depth of anger about violence against women.
He has also admitted people in his government failed Ms Higgins after she reported the alleged rape in parliament.
Mr Morrison will try to clear the air by reshuffling his frontbench line-up in coming days.
But shifting Mr Porter and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, who had to apologise for calling Ms Higgins a ‘lying cow’, to other portfolios is unlikely to satisfy those demanding accountability.
