Advertisement

‘Revolving door’ of Lib women if no change

Marise Payne warned that the Liberal Party was scared to have serious conversations about gender. Photo: AAP

Marise Payne warned that the Liberal Party was scared to have serious conversations about gender. Photo: AAP Photo: AAP

The Liberal Party faces a revolving door of women if the culture does not improve, one MP says amid calls for a temporary quota.

Former minister Linda Reynolds has called for a temporary quota to boost the number of women in the party after female representation dropped to its lowest number since 1993.

But Western Sydney Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh says while quotas may help boost numbers initially, culture change was needed as the party conducts a post-mortem on its election loss.

The internal review reportedly shows almost three in four female voters under the age of 34 in marginal seats preferenced Labor over the Liberals.

“There’ll be lots of takings from the report that’s coming out, but when it comes to female representation I’ve also been very public in saying we need to address the culture within the Liberal Party,” Ms McIntosh said.

“You can have all the quotas in the world but it’ll be a revolving door of women unless we make changes when it comes to culture.”

She said programs were needed to support women aspiring to leadership “through to the highest levels”.

Former party director Brian Loughnane and Victorian senator Jane Hume are reviewing the 2022 election campaign.

In its submission to the review, the Young Liberals say the party failed to recruit, retain and promote women, and did not have a strategy to achieve its goal to have 50 per cent female elected members by 2025.

– AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.