Senator Ralph Babet doubles down on ‘disgusting’ racist, homophobic and ableist slurs
Written by admin on November 12, 2024
A senator who posted a series of derogatory remarks targeting people of colour, the disabled and the LGBT+ community has no intention of apologising despite fierce public outrage.
Ralph Babet is a Victorian Senator for billionaire Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and has a track record for sharing controversial and inflammatory views on social media.
But his latest search for attention via a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday has upped the ante.
Sharing a video from disgraced self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, Senator Babet wrote: “My n****r nailed this one. One hundred percent [sic].”
In a second post, he added: “In my house we say ph****t, r****d and n****r. We are sick of you woke ass clowns. Cry more. Write an article. Tweet about me. No one cares what you think.”
Both posts have been collectively viewed more than 4.9 million times and received 3200 reposts.
Senator Babet, who changed his first name from Deej when he entered politics, was the UAP’s sole electoral victory at the 2022 election, with reports Mr Palmer funnelled a staggering $100 million into campaigning.
The former real estate agent now pockets a salary of $230,000 per year, courtesy of taxpayers.
The stunning remarks sparked fury online, with commenters questioning Senator Babet’s fitness to sit in parliament, as well as his commitment to the people of Victoria given his preoccupation with issues outside the state – and indeed Australia.
“He’s learning from Trump and his minions,” one wrote. “I fear for our future.”
Another posted: “How long will Ralph Babet be permitted to tarnish the reputation and standards of the Australian senate?”
News.com.au sought a response from a number of politicians across the political spectrum about Senator Babet’s conduct.
In a statement, Greens leader Adam Bandt said: “Despicable comments like these hurt people and should be condemned. After Donald Trump’s election, we all need to work double time to keep Peter Dutton and the hard right out of power.”
Activist group MFW described his comments as “disgusting”.
“Of course, Senator Babet should be immediately sacked,” it said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“But we understand there’s no easy mechanism to do so.
“There is, though, the opportunity for women, LGBTIQA+ people, disabled people and Black people to immediately make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission or other similar organisations, on the basis that both these tweets are illegal hate speech.
“We’ll be doing this ourselves today, and advise anyone who can to do the same.”
A number of social media users have indicated they’ve lodged formal complaints with the Commission.
Senator Babet has styled himself as a free speech warrior and is prolific on social media, posting a combination of troll-like comments attacking minority groups and conspiracy theories.
On Sunday, he took to Facebook with a false, baseless claim that CNN had reported “the Pentagon is meeting in secret to plot against Trump”.
His fans on the platform lapped it up, with the post attracting 1500 likes and more than 1100 comments.
Last week, he shared a copy of a letter sent to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attacking Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, be sacked over “derogatory remarks” he made on social media about Donald Trump.
And earlier this month, he was criticised for an extreme remark in which he vowed to “eradicate … radical elements” in the queer community should he be “elected to power”.
Kos Samaras, a polling expert and director of strategy and analytics at Redbridge, told The Daily Telegraph that Senator Babet was a “political accident”.
“The most expensive seat in the Senate and the least likely to be returned to the Senate when their term has expired,” Mr Samaras told the newspaper.
“The only thing that will be eradicated is his name on a Senatorial office door.”
Andrew Hughes, a political marketing expert at Australian National University, told The Sydney Morning Herald that Senator Babet was clearly hungry for attention.
“It’s harder and harder to get people engaged in politics,” Dr Hughes said.
“What [he] is doing is using fear and anger. More often it’s anger at the moment. He wants people to be angry, to feel they’re not heard.”
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The politician doubled down late yesterday, writing: “The chances of me apologising for anything I’ve said on X are zero.”
News.com.au requested comment from the UAP and Senator Babet.
Mr Palmer has remained silent about the furore.
