David Crisafulli’s plan to increase number of women

LNP leader David Crisafulli says he is putting “everything on the line” as he outlined his plan to boost the ­diversity of his party room.

LNP leader David Crisafulli says he is putting “everything on the line” to boost the ­diversity of his party room, as he declared he wants LNP candidates preselected earlier than ever before for the 2024 state election.

Mr Crisafulli said that he would be meeting with seven women in the coming days who are potential and prospective candidates, but he again sidestepped questions over whether he supported quotas.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

As the LNP met on Sunday for its annual convention, Mr Crisafulli reiterated his push to have women run as candidates in seven of the 14 most marginal seats the LNP needs to win at the next election.

Mr Crisafulli suggested he would be “held accountable” if party members failed to back what he was calling for.

“In the next three days, I will be speaking to seven young women in regional Queensland with some target seats,” he told the media following his speech at the convention.

“I’m putting everything on the line. This is serious for me and it’s serious for the party and it’s serious for Queensland.”

Asked if he supported quotas to boost gender diversity in his state parliamentary team, Mr Crisafulli wouldn’t say – instead suggesting it was a decision for the party.

Of the LNP’s 34 members of state parliament, six of them are women.

Within government ranks, 21 of Labor’s 52 state MPs are women.

Pointing to the success of newly elected South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, Mr Crisafulli said he wanted LNP candidates for the 2024 state election to be preselected “earlier than they ever have”.

“I want to preselect early. As to the timing of that, that’s always a matter for the party,” he said.

“When I look at some of the success that Peter ­Malinauskas achieved in South Australia, I think a big part of that was having younger candidates in the field earlier.”

During his speech before the party faithful, LNP Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner pointed to how his council team had a 50-50 gender balance.

“That wasn’t achieved through quotas,” he said.

“That was achieved through that renewal process – one preselection at a time, one man or woman putting their hand up at a time to be part of this team,” Mr Schrinner said.