Liberals’ cheeky ‘assertive’ women dig at party elder

Liberal members have poked fun at a party elder’s comments that women in the party are “sufficiently assertive” – by printing shirts with the phrase emblazoned on them.

Liberal members have poked fun at a party elder’s comments that women in the party are “sufficiently assertive” – by printing shirts with the phrase emblazoned on them.

NSW MPs including deputy Liberal leader Natalie Ward, Felicity Wilson and Jacqui Munro are among those who have donned the shirts, with participating party members set to participate in a mass upload of ‘selfies’ to social media on Friday morning.

The tongue-in-cheek move has a serious aim of helping recruit more women to the party, alongside hopes the shirts can be sold to fundraise for future female Liberal candidates.

“The wonderful thing about assertive women is they are effective. I’d love more assertive women focused on shaping the future of Australian politics,” Charlotte Mortlock, a Liberal who has campaigned for more women to join the party, said.

Deputy leader of the NSW Liberals Natalie Ward.

North Shore MP Felicity Wilson.

Ms Ward, the most senior woman Liberal in the NSW branch, added she’d “rather be called assertive, than irrelevant”.

Federal Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian – who is challenging her 26-vote loss to Teal Nicolette Boele in the High Court – has also taken part in the movement, saying “fundamental to our party and nation’s success has always been our talented women”.

Hilma's Network founder Charlotte Mortlock.

Bradfield Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian.

The move comes after former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale, who last year was appointed to an administrative committee to run the NSW branch, told a June meeting of the NSW Liberal Women’s Council that women in the party had become “sufficiently assertive” and rules may have to be introduced to ensure men could still be preselected.

Mr Stockdale later told The Telegraph he “intended no disrespect” over the “lighthearted but poorly chosen remark”.

He was dumped from the committee alongside fellow Victorian Richard Alston last month, with a new six-person committee filled with NSW Liberals appointed to run the division.

Originally published as Liberals’ cheeky ‘assertive’ women dig at party elder