Women abandon Coalition in droves

Australian women’s perception of federal leaders took a steep dive amid a slew of scandals.

Scott Morrison. Picture: Getty Images

Australian women’s perception of federal leaders took a steep dive from the end of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021 amid a slew of Parliament House scandals, including the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and revelations that male escorts had been brought into parliament for MPs.

New research from Swinburne University shows Australian women’s support for the government dropped from 44 per cent in the final quarter of 2020 to 29 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.

In contrast, men’s ratings remained stable at 47 per cent.

The Australian Leadership Index (ALI) shows receding levels of public trust for the federal government and found the “demonstration of high ethical standards” as being central to women’s perceptions of government leadership.

Researcher Melissa Wheeler said the data provided irrefutable evidence of the receding levels of public trust in the federal government, especially by female constituents, amid a war of words with the premiers over the vaccine rollout and the aftermath of the sexual ­assault alle­gations that have rocked the Morrison government.

“Over the course of the ALI (2018-present), women have consistently rated the Australian federal government slightly more poorly than men in terms of leading for the greater good,” she said. “But in the first quarter of 2021, we recorded the largest gap in perceptions between women and men.”

Dr Wheeler said the continued and increasing loss of women’s faith in the federal ­government was striking and warranted quick action.

“Attention has recently been drawn away from the toxic culture of parliament with the vaccine rollout troubleshooting, but the public will not easily forget or forfeit the culture changes that are needed to restore public trust,” she said.

The new data comes as Scott Morrison denied his calls for the resignation of then-Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate were based on gender, declaring he regretted any distress he may have caused but stopped short of apologising.

Ms Holgate on Tuesday accused the Prime Minister of ­“humiliating’’ her.

Newspoll shows the Coalition has lost significant electoral ground across its traditionally strongest states of Western Australia and Queensland and is facing collapse in South Australia.