Update, 21 December 2012: Is this still the best take down of the year? Back in October, Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, delivered a blistering tirade against bullying and sexist hypocrisy.

10 October 2012: Gillard has been on the end of many catcalls in parliament, as well as regular comments with sexist undertones from Tony Abbott, the conservative leader of the opposition. But when Abbott and his party tried to remove the speaker of the house for sexist text messages, Gillard decided that enough was enough. She left no punches hanging, and helped remind us all that in 2012 and soon 2013, there's no room for sexism.