It is an allegation that should command attention regardless of which political party was printed on her shirt.
Yet the alleged attack occurred on Friday morning. By Monday morning, Australians were only just beginning to hear about it through major media.
And that raises a question worth asking.
Why?
According to information provided directly to Big Chocky by One Nation General Manager Kelvin Morton, the woman, a grandmother, was making her way back to the One Nation stand at Brisbane's Ekka while wearing a One Nation jacket and cap when she was confronted by three women and a man.
Morton alleges the group began verbally abusing her, including calling her a “racist c*nt”.
When she attempted to move away from the group and return to the safety of the One Nation booth, Morton says one of the women spat on her.
A man then allegedly punched her in the chest.
The woman was subsequently taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, where Morton says she was X-rayed and diagnosed with a broken rib.
Think about that for a moment.
A woman in her 60s. A grandmother. Allegedly punched in the chest by a man. Hospitalised with a broken rib.
Political allegiance shouldn't change how seriously that is treated.
One Nation says police were investigating
Morton told Big Chocky directly:
The incident was reported to Queensland Police. Detectives have been reviewing EKKA CCTV footage.
Kelvin Morton — General Manager, One Nation
That statement is important because the police account currently in the public domain appears to differ.
News.com.au reported on Monday morning that Queensland Police said officers were aware of an altercation at the Brisbane Showgrounds at Bowen Hills on 14 August, but that no formal complaints had been made at that stage.
That leaves an obvious question.
How can One Nation understand that the incident was reported and detectives were reviewing CCTV, while the police response subsequently supplied to the media says no formal complaint had been made?
Kelvin's statement to us is clear: One Nation's understanding is that the incident was reported and CCTV was being reviewed.
Where was this story all weekend?
The alleged assault occurred on Friday morning.
The first substantial mainstream report we have located did not appear until news.com.au published the story on Monday morning. The Courier-Mail subsequently reported the alleged attack later that morning.
For almost an entire weekend, an allegation that a man had punched a woman in her 60s hard enough to leave her hospitalised with a broken rib attracted virtually none of the mainstream attention Australians might expect from an incident of that seriousness.
Contrast that with the extraordinary amount of coverage devoted only a day earlier to coordinated student walkouts against Pauline Hanson and One Nation.
Those protests were covered nationally.
Television.
Radio.
Online news.
Photographs, of which the credibility is extremely poor.
Video.
Then, the following morning, according to One Nation, one of its female staff members was allegedly physically attacked while visibly wearing the party's clothing and there was near silence until Monday.
This isn't an argument that the protests should not have been reported, they were newsworthy. The question is why the alleged violence was apparently so much slower to attract attention.
Violence against women doesn't suddenly become less serious because of her politics
Australia has spent years having a national conversation about violence against women.
The numbers are confronting. Around one in three Australian women has experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
Governments tell Australians violence against women must never be normalised. News organisations run campaigns demanding change. Politicians condemn violence and call for greater respect for women.
Those principles cannot depend on which way the woman votes.
They cannot disappear because she works for Pauline Hanson.
They cannot change because somebody dislikes One Nation.
If the allegations surrounding Friday's incident are substantiated, this was a man allegedly using physical violence against a woman in her 60s who was trying to walk away.
That should matter. Full stop.
Nobody has to support One Nation to say that. Nobody has to like Pauline Hanson. Nobody has to agree with a single One Nation policy.
Criticise them.
Protest them.
Challenge them.
Campaign against them.
Vote against them.
That is democracy. Spitting on someone isn't. Punching a woman isn't.
This shouldn't be controversial
If the victim had been wearing a Labor shirt, the response should be the same. If she worked for the Greens, the response should be the same.
Liberal.
Nationals.
One Nation.
Independent.
It doesn't matter.
An Australian should be able to publicly express a political belief without fearing being punched for it, and a woman in her 60s should certainly be able to walk through the Ekka wearing the uniform of her employer without allegedly being assaulted by a man.
This isn't about defending One Nation's politics. It's about defending a far more basic principle. Political disagreement is not a licence for violence.
Violence against women doesn't become acceptable because the woman has the “wrong” politics and if our media wants Australians to treat violence against women seriously, then that standard has to apply to every woman, not just the ones whose politics make for a comfortable headline.
