Murdoch Press Head Line Above

FINANCE Minister Mathias Cormann has defended describing Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten as an “economic girlie man’’ arguing he’s not sexist because the term is not gender specific.

Stealing his lines from Republican and former Mr Universe Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has recycled the “economic girlie man’’ joke for years.

“I don’t think there’s anything gender specific here. Not girls, girlies, it’s very different. I hope you are not going to say I am a sexist misogynist.’’

According to Shorten

“This is the same bloke that was celebrating with a cigar in his mouth days before announcing cuts to pensions, family payments and universities.

The Telegraph Murdoch’s paper is doing their best to sanitize it.

The “economic girlie man” line has also been used on Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell comedy program on the ABC where it is regularly used as a longrunning gag by a character called Darius Horsham who is billed as Senator Corman’’s official spokesman.