John Howard calls for more females to join Liberal Party
JOHN Howard has called for more women to join the parliamentary Liberal Party while speaking at an exclusive men’s only club in Brisbane.
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FORMER prime minister John Howard says he wants more women to join the Liberal Party but says he is not a fan of quotas.
Fairfax Media reports that Mr Howard interestingly enough made the comments at the Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane, which doesn’t allow women.
“I would like to see more women in the House of Representatives on our side of politics,” Mr Howard said. “But in the end, you’ve always got to make a judgment based on merit.”
“I’m sure the women among us would agree with me overwhelmingly that, in the end, it’s all about merit,” he said.
“I think that whole notion of quotas is wrong. It’s patronising,” he said. “There should be equality of opportunity and there should be merit-based selection.”
Mr Howard said there were more female Liberals in Parliament in 1996 when he was prime minister then there are now in 2018.
Mr Howard was launching his new book, The Art of Persuasion, which is a collection of speeches he has made over the years, including his Port Arthur speech.
The former prime minister said Scott Morrison had made a “terrific start” in the role.
“He obviously has to address the energy issue, that’s a very difficult one, but in the end, it does depend very heavily on the personality and the interpersonal skills of the leader,” he said.
