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The REAL story behind the 'late-night rendezvous' picture that 'set women back 100 years'

'I enjoyed looking at the member's photos he posted this morning of his little late-night rendezvous,' Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: The Premier of Queensland has been accused of "pushing women back 100 years" through her comments on three women who visited the Queensland Parliament on Wednesday, August 17. As per an Instagram post shared by MP John-Paul Langbroek, he and MP Sam O'Connor had given a tour of the government building to a group of their constituents.

In the caption, Langbroek wrote, "When the #TheFabulousGoldie girls come to @queenslandparliament #LocalMPs." The photos included in the post showed the women — Tamika Smith, Brooke Henley-Smith and Lauren Duitsch — posing in and around the Speaker's chair. It has been said that Tamika, who is the 2021 Woman of the Year Entrepreneur, was invited to parliament by O'Connor, who has praised "her house-building company MyBellaCasa on Queenslanders escaping domestic violence," The Daily Mail reported.

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But Annastacia Palaszczuk did not appear to like the tour. On Thursday, August 18, she slammed the images. She told parliament, "I enjoyed looking at the member's photos he posted this morning of his little late-night rendezvous... on the Speaker's chair."

Rendezvous is a French word, which means appointment, but the Daily Mail report said that it "has sultry connotations when used in English.” After Palaszczuk’s remarks, Henley – a real-estate agent — fired back at her. She said, "You push women back 100 years with your snide remarks which I am appalled at."

Langbroek slammed the 53-year-old politician in parliament. He said, "It was outrageous stereotyping of the premier this morning, suggesting I was having, and I quote her, ‘a late night rendezvous’ with regard to my Gold Coast guests. These couples had purchased a dinner with me at a charity function which I was pleased to support."

The 61-year-old added, "Imagine the outcry if I were to make any similar comments about the premier having a 'late night rendezvous’ or intimated anything about her appearance. Her judgmental, sexist comments about females in social media comments were completely inappropriate and unbecoming."

Amanda Camm, Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, denounced the premier’s words too and asked for an apology. She said, "On behalf of Tamika, of Brooke, of Lauren - amazing young women in our community - on behalf of all women... The premier needs to apologize. The imputation of a late night rendezvous is unacceptable and unacceptable by the woman who holds the highest office in this state."

After all the condemnations, a spokesperson for Palaszczuk’s office said, "The Premier's comments were about the lack of respect for the Speaker's chair by a Member of Parliament. The Premier did not mean any offence and is astonished anyone would interpret what she said as referring to anything other than respect for the Chamber. The comments were made in Question Time. The Premier withdrew her comments when a Member raised concerns."

However, Palaszczuk was not the only one to make such an inappropriate statement. David Sharaz, the partner of former federal Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, also said in a now-deleted tweet, "In Queensland this is how the LNP uses the Parliament after hours during sitting weeks." LNP stands for Liberal National Party of Queensland, and Langbroek and O'Connor both are its members.

But after criticisms, he tried to tone things down by stating, "This is in no way a reflection of the women in the photograph & criticism levelled at them is completely out of line. What I’m highlighting is that this is the Speaker's chair. In Qld there seems to be an entirely different protocol about how the Chamber is treated."