Liberals have ‘very serious‘ problem with women, concedes Payne

Senior federal government minister Marise Payne concedes the Liberals have a problem with the number of women in the party.

Senior federal government minister Marise Payne. Picture: AAP

Senior federal government minister Marise Payne concedes the Liberals have a “very serious” problem with the number of women in the party. Liberal frontbencher Sussan Ley believes her party should consider introducing quotas to address the low number of women in federal Parliament. While stopping short of explicitly endorsing the proposal, which the Liberals have long opposed, Senator Payne had to cast her mind back a long way to remember a rosier time for women in the party’s ranks.

“I think that we do have a very serious issue concerning the role of women in the parliamentary process and also in efforts to engage more across the community,” the foreign affairs minister told ABC radio on Friday. “We did a very good job in 1996 - but I hesitate to say 1996 because it was a very long time ago - in the election of the Howard government to ensure we had a very broadly representative team facing the community.

“We’ve proven we can do it, I know that we can do it again, and we have to bring the same determination as we brought those many years ago to addressing this task now.” Ms Ley says the pitiful level of female representation in the Liberals has forced her to reconsider her opposition to quotas.

“I’ve never been a fan of quotas but I must say recently I’ve wondered whether we should consider them,” she said.

“In what context I’m not sure but we don’t have enough women. The issue has to start long before you get to parliament.” The issue has bubbled alongside allegations by female MPs they were bullied in last month’s bitter leadership drama.

Ms Ley said the Liberals had to do more to recruit female MPs. “If you look at our party, the picture tells its own story,” she said. Liberal MP Julia Banks and Senator Lucy Gichuhi say they were subjected to bullying and intimidation from male colleagues during the Liberal leadership spill.

The behaviour prompted Ms Banks to quit parliament, while former deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop questioned why her party had trouble attracting and attaining women.

Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said it was unacceptable senior Liberal Party figures told Ms Banks to “toughen up”.

Mr Pyne also took aim at Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly for telling her to “roll with the punches”.

“It was a particularly bad choice of words,” he told the Nine Network. “What we all need to do is be a lot more caring of each other … people need to grow up.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said both male and female Liberal MPs were pressured during the chaos, but he stopped short of calling the behaviour bullying.

AAP