Shorten failing the gender test

His Victorian Right faction is dragging the chain on equality

It’s somewhat ironic that Bill Shorten lauds the ALP’s efforts on female representation, considering his unimpressive efforts as leader of the Victorian Right faction, which is the worst offender in promoting women to the House of Representatives (“Right at the heart of ALP gender woes”, 21/1).

Of the 10 Victorian MPs from the Right, only two are women. One was preselected at the insistence of Julia Gillard, the other a result of the late withdrawal of the preselected male candidate to replace Simon Crean. By contrast, of the eight Left MPs from Victoria, five are women.

The national executive should be concerned that 20 per cent representation is really dragging the chain. The Victorian Right faction is flaunting the party’s 50 per cent representation goal. Since Shorten took over as Leader of the Opposition not one new woman has been elected as a federal MP from the Victorian Right. To make matters worse, the Victorian Right has missed two more opportunities to promote a woman; to replace the retiring MP in Macnamara and in the newly created safe seat of Fraser.

We are all proud that the Caucus today is close to 50 per cent representation of women. It’s been a historic struggle in the union movement and the ALP to achieve this outcome. The heavy lifting has been done by the Left, as witnessed by the leadership of Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong. It’s a stark contrast to the woeful plight of women in the Government’s ranks. But these overall achievements mask the perpetuation of the boys’ club in the Victorian Right. Shorten should recognise that cultural change is urgently required.

Jennie George, Mollymook, NSW

Selectively Left

The collective Left is so eager to demonise Western civilisation that it ignores the evidence that migrants, legal and illegal, are very keen to live in Western countries and especially English-speaking countries: the US, Great Britain and Australia.

The Left also ignores the fact Israel is a shining beacon of democracy in a Middle East riven by warring factions of Islam with very little evidence of open, above-board universal franchise and little concern about the plight of minorities, including the minority sects of Islam itself.

The Left should “watch the boats” to see which countries the impoverished of the world are trying to reach — and these are not the oil-wealthy despotic Islamic countries but the countries of the democratic “West” that provide not only a decent standard of living but basic human rights.

Babette Francis, Toorak, Vic

Room for us all

Thank goodness for the common sense expressed in the letters by Peter Waterhouse and Joseph Buttery (“The legacy of settlement is a comfortable country”, 22/1). Undoubtedly, that common sense is shared by the majority of Australians. Perhaps the concerns of the dislocated dissidents might be met with the gazettal of three annual dates: January 25 for reflection upon this country’s origins and First Peoples; January 26 for rejoicing at this country's settlement and modernity; January 27 for recrimination by those so inclined concerning past omissions and present shortcomings.

Ian Dunlop, Hawks Nest, NSW

Intolerable insult

I write in response to the story "PM’s plea for terrorist Bashir to stay locked up" (22/1). Imagine if the reverse were the case and Australia decided to free a person who was involved in the killing of 80-plus Indonesians? Bloody hell would have erupted.

Our Prime Minister should contact the Opposition Leader and ask for support to do the following, if Bashir is released: no more aid provided to Indonesia ever and trade both ways to cease immediately.

Gerry Outhwaite, Crestmead, Qld