MPs should reflect the community they serve

For credibility and consistency, the Liberal Party must quickly find a way to achieve its stated target for an equal number of men and women in its parliamentary ranks by 2025. As things stand, one of the Morrison government’s main messages for world leaders is that targets are worthless without action to back them up. Australia’s position on climate change action is that we set achievable targets and find innovative ways to deliver them on time and in full. But inside the Liberal Party, when it comes to women in parliament, there has been a big promise made — yet it has been woefully underdelivered, with no obvious plan to move ahead. Against a target of 50 per cent women by 2025, only 25.4 per cent of Liberal MPs across federal and state parliaments in July last year were women. This was an increase of just 3 per cent in four years.

Having been caught in a whirlwind of sexual politics in Canberra in recent months, Scott Morrison is attempting to overcome what has become a deep-seated perception that his party has a problem with women. At a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said there had never been a more important time for women to stand in parliament. “I want to see more women in this place. I have done many things to get more women in this place and I intend to do more,” Mr Morrison said. “I have put more women in my cabinet than any other prime minister ever has before and I look forward to doing more. I need women to stand with me as we go about this, as we stand together.”

Pushing the issue further, Mr Morrison reopened debate on the divisive issue of whether the Liberal Party should follow Labor with a quota system to make sure that gender targets are met. The ALP has increased its female representation from 11.82 per cent to 47.87 per cent since 1994, when the quota system was introduced. Labor’s gender push is supported by EMILY’s List, a financial, political and personal support network for Labor women in politics. The body provides mentors and the foundations on which to build a successful campaign and attract more financial support. Mr Morrison said he had been open to the conversation about quotas for some time. “I think many Liberals have been coming to this view (a quota system) over time,” he said.

The Australian has always been opposed to quotas. Neither do we believe the issue of gender balance within the major parties is the key to resolving the cultural issues and claims of sometimes criminal misbehaviour that have dominated Canberra in recent weeks. Any suggestion that all women behave well and all men behave badly is ludicrous. But it is easy to understand that the sorts of workplace behaviour at Parliament House that have been exposed publicly in recent days are enough to discourage both men and women of high character from wanting to run for public office.

This is a tragedy for the nation. Australia deserves the brightest and best leaders, and parliamentarians who truly reflect the people they serve. It would be foolish to think that the current crop of MPs on both sides of the house is the best that can be offered up to voters. The highest quality candidates, regardless of gender, are needed to lift the intellectual and professional firepower on both the government and opposition benches. Meritocracy is gender neutral, but the challenge for the Liberal Party to meet its 2025 target starts from the ground up. As Nick Cater writes on Thursday, the disproportionate representation of women in the Liberal Party runs deep. Female membership of the Young Liberal movement sits at 34.8 per cent women to 65.2 per cent men. The senior party records female membership of 42.9 per cent women and 57.1 per cent men. Research by the Menzies Research Centre claims that progress is being made. Of the 14 new Liberal members elected to the House of Representatives in May 2019, seven were men and seven were women.

It is outrageous nonetheless that Australia’s political parties do not reflect more properly the society they serve. This includes the Liberal Party getting its house in order with regard to its targets on women. It is incumbent on leaders in both the public and private sectors to make sure that there is no discrimination on the basis of gender or race. Many companies have achieved good results using measurable, achievable targets to improve female representation in the workforce without setting quotas. A priority to achieving a political system that better reflects and serves its public masters is to work hard to remove the barriers to entry that disproportionately affect women, but not only women. This includes areas such as childcare, workplace flexibility and sensible working hours.

Janet Albrechtsen hit a nerve with many readers when she set out a road map to improve parliamentary behaviour. Her list included shorter working hours and banning alcohol and introducing drug and alcohol testing for workers including MPs and staff. Citizens are entitled to feel pride in their parliament and the people who represent them. For that, parliament must be a place that reflects our country, our communities, our families and the values that define us as a nation.