This is Bill Shorten attempting to skol a beer the other day. I say ‘attempting’, because in my books it can’t possibly count as a skol if you take more than 10 seconds and if Bob Hawke can do three in the meantime:

Judging by the vigor of Bill’s attempt, I think this may have been him five minutes later:

(Just kidding: that was actually Bill finding plenty of safe land space in Kirabati in 2015 to dance the night away – incredibly without falling into the rising seas that are supposedly engulfing the island).

This is Tony Abbott doing his skol in about 7 seconds in 2015:

This was Judith Ireland of the Sydney Morning Herald trying to lay on the sanctimony regarding Abbott, while still maintaining praise for Bob Hawke – on the basis that Abbott was promoting binge drinking, that we’ve supposedly ‘moved on’ and – worst of all – that men cheering a beer skol is apparently ‘hyped-up’ and ‘macho’:

Why Tony Abbott’s skol doesn’t sit quite right

And yet there’s something about the skol that doesn’t sit quite right. It’s not just that the Prime Minister is supposed to be a vocal advocate against binge drinking. 

Or that our culture has (supposedly) moved on from Hawkie’s glory days, when being able to drink beer very quickly made you really awesome. 

Perhaps it is that it was an unmistakably and assertively macho act – amid a chanting group of hyped-up dudes. And that it came from a Prime Minister who has been trying for the last 18 months to convince us that he is also the Minister for Women. 

Firstly, I wonder how Judith was able to tell that everyone cheering Abbott on was male? I’ve looked at the video a few times now and can’t tell for the life of me. She must be really good at investigative journalism. Or not.

Secondly, I wonder what Judith and SMH will have to say about Bill?