If you were wondering what the ineffable Emcee Kerser was up to these days, he’s apparently risen to the most senior ranks of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents. During a webinar, Jayson Westbury, a chief executive suggested he’d like A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw “to be given a firm uppercut or a slap on the face”.

“I won’t ever be watching [A Current Affair] again, I think that Tracy Grimshaw needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face,” he said. “And I mean that virtually, of course, I wouldn’t want to invoke (sic) any violence on anyone.

“But, I mean, some of the behaviour and some of the language that’s being used on that program is just outrageous.”

“The best thing to do for A Current Affair is just to stop watching,” Westbury told the seminar. “I’ve personally boycotted it, won’t be ever watching it again.”

Westbury’s comments incited mass calls for him to stand down. “He needs to be sacked from his position now,” Red Heart Campaign founder and journalist Sherele Moody shared in a Facebook post. “It’s hard to believe that old mate has no idea about the epidemic of violence against women in Australia. That he doesn’t know men across the country routinely give their partners uppercuts and slaps around the face.”

Westbury issued an apology for his comments, acknowledging his “very poor choice of words”, as if he had just bungled a sentence not unleashed a violent tirade against a female journalist. He has since resigned from his role.

The board of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents said chief executive Jayson Westbury’s “inappropriate and unacceptable” comments did not reflect the travel industry

“His choice of words cannot be condoned,” AFTA chairman Tom Manwaring said. “His work history stands in good stead for the service he has provide the travel industry and AFTA’s members.”

We’re absolutely envisioning an office full of backslapping suits comforting Westbury, throwing around choice phrases like “people just can’t take a joke anymore” and “sorry champ, everyone’s a sensitive snowflake nowadays.”

On the topic of travel it looks as though widespread international travel will not return until 2023. The future for domestic travel around Australia is looking brighter, however, with experts predicting it should essentially return to normal by the end of the year.

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