'Ditch the Witch' Returns: A Political Slogan's Second Act Triggers Rare Bipartisan Consensus

The phrase "Ditch the Witch," deployed against Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2011, has resurfaced in a $105,000 campaign targeting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. On 8 June 2026, both Gillard and PM Anthony Albanese publicly condemned it—a stark contrast to the years-long debate that followed Gillard's earlier exposure to the language. Their swift, unhedged response signals a hardened institutional consensus that the slogan itself, regardless of target, represents political misogyny beyond acceptable bounds.