Sussan Ley, faced with internal turmoil over climate and environment issues while trying to extinguish simmering challenges from a disgruntled backbench who want to philosophically reshape the very party she leads, has elevated a critical new political issue to the top of the national agenda.<\/p>\n
The prime minister\u2019s decision to wear a Joy Division T-shirt.<\/p>\n
The opposition leader was criticised by those inside her own party for instantly jumping on criticisms of Kevin Rudd<\/a> after Anthony Albanese\u2019s successful meeting with Donald Trump. Ley leapt too early, and once it was clear that few in her party were joining her \u2013 and that, by all accounts, Rudd had actually done a decent job \u2013 she backtracked on her own demands<\/a> to sack the US ambassador.<\/p>\n Having learned from that mistake, Ley waited five days this time to launch an even stranger and politically puzzling attack on Albanese\u2019s choice to wear the T-shirt of seminal British post-punk band Joy Division as he departed his plane on arrival from Washington DC last Thursday. Discarding the traditional suit and tie, Albanese sucked in fresh air from 24 hours in transit in a tee with the famous artwork from the band\u2019s influential 1979 Unknown Pleasures album.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese arriving back from his US trip wearing the Joy Division T-shirt. Photograph: Nine News<\/p>\n In a speech to parliament on Tuesday \u2013 which her office helpfully typed out and swiftly blasted to the entire parliamentary press gallery, just in case you missed it \u2013 Ley claimed it was a \u201cprofound failure of judgment\u201d. She pointed out, correctly, Joy Division was named after \u201ca wing of a Nazi concentration camp where Jewish women were forced into sexual slavery\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when Jewish Australians are facing a rise in antisemitism, when families are asking for reassurance and unity, the prime minister chose to parade an image derived from hatred and suffering,\u201d Ley told parliament on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n Sympathy and sensitivity toward the Jewish community, in and of itself, is of course a worthy cause. But it\u2019s important to note here that Australian Jewish groups weren\u2019t exactly lining up to endorse Ley\u2019s comments on Tuesday. None of the major community organisations chose to back her in, or complain about Albanese\u2019s sartorial choices.<\/p>\n A senior source from one of the most-respected Jewish groups, which has had no problem criticising the Labor government on occasion, was bemused by Ley\u2019s claims. They noted Albanese\u2019s well-known history as a music fan, and said if their group had problems with his clothing, they\u2019d complain to him directly.<\/p>\n Which they hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Amid the clothing kerfuffle, Albanese was in Malaysia for international summits a day after meeting the Chinese premier. While Ley was criticising his clothing, he posted online<\/a> he was \u201cgetting things done\u201d.<\/p>\n Ley timed her remarks in the prime spot just before question time, the speaking slot used by canny politicians hoping their remarks will be picked up by TV broadcasts beginning early or journalists filing into the chamber. This goes to the fact that Ley wanted her remarks, off-kilter as they were, to be seen and heard.<\/p>\n Why it took Ley five days to pick the fight is a question one could ask. That it came the day after the Sky News host Sharri Markson ran a segment on her TV show, making points which Ley\u2019s statement closely mirrored, is another interesting note.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a T-shirt of a band he\u2019s a fan of \u2026 their music has been around for a few decades,\u201d the assistant minister Pat Gorman told the ABC.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s big issues in the world, I don\u2019t think T-shirts of mainstream bands is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n The origin of Joy Division\u2019s name is well known. The band dissolved after the death of its frontman, Ian Curtis, and its remaining members formed New Order. Their famous single, Love Will Tear Us Apart, has been voted among the best songs of all time in numerous respected polls, and placed number one as the greatest song of all time in both the 1989 and 1990 Triple J Hottest 100 votes.<\/p>\n David Rowe, an emeritus professor of cultural research at Western Sydney University and a student in the UK during the punk movement, said the band\u2019s provocative name was typical for the period.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was quite common for people to have shocking names or shocking forms of appearance,\u201d he said. \u201c[Ley] seems to be suggesting that there was a connection between the band and Nazis, which obviously there absolutely isn\u2019t other than the connotations of the name.\u201d<\/p>\n