Amy Taeuber fights back against Adelaide knuckle-draggers

It's important to take a look and see just how far feminism has come since the days of Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer.

I have no background in feminist history or theory but the recent sacking of Amy Taeuber, a 27-year old TV journalism cadet in the Channel Seven newsroom in Adelaide, piqued my interest.

I have long contended that Adelaide has a 'unique' business culture. While many espouse the principles of equity, disclosure and social justice, when something goes wrong, they act more like the Stasi.

I also contend that Adelaide's brain drain over the last 40 years has reached a critical stage. Adelaide's larger organisations such as SA Health, TAFE SA, the SA Department of Child Protection and DECD, are rupturing under the strain of their own contradictions.

The so-called drive for productivity (a much over used word) or worse 'excellence', has produced a tribe of under educated bullies who strut the corridors of power like Flashman of old. The brains trust left for Melbourne and Sydney 20 or 30 years ago.

The Amy Taeuber case is curious because it is sexual prejudice in its most raw form. It is a prime example why the second wave of the feminist movement rose in the early 1960s.

In March 2016, Ms Taeuber, 27, had been chatting with her sister Sophie Taeuber, who was also employed by Seven, at the network's Adelaide office.

According to court documents, Rodney Lohse, 47, a Today Tonight reporterapproached the pair and said to Amy Taeuber: "one in three women are lesbians, therefore (Amy) must be a lesbian as she is a triplet".

Amy Taeuber found the comments offensive and humiliating but her complaints were dismissed by the newsroom editor. That was mistake number one.

The girls' mother, Linda Taeuber, has since claimed there were other incidents. Mr Lohse had allegedly made comments comparing the sisters' looks and suggested 27 was "over the hill" for a woman in TV.

Amy Taeuber made an official complaint in April last year. In the weeks that followed, she became the target of what she claimed was a 'retaliatory' investigation where she was accused of bullying a fellow journalism cadet, who was and remains a close friend.

The bullying allegation was unfounded. It had nothing to do with the sexual discrimination matter.