The Liberals want more women to run. This one was told to ‘go on a crash diet’

A mayoral hopeful in next month’s local government elections has quit the NSW Liberal Party after claiming she was told she should clear the path for a male candidate and go on a crash diet.

South Coast businesswoman Jemma Tribe, who is running as an independent for Shoalhaven City Council, spoke of feeling “disillusioned” with the Liberal Party when she resigned in a strongly worded missive this week.

Shoalhaven City Council mayoral candidate Jemma Tribe.

Tribe, who previously ran for preselection for the state South Coast seat and the federal seat of Gilmore, said she was asked during preselections to withdraw to “make way for a male candidate”.

“I heard feedback like ‘you need to go on a crash diet’, ‘people think you’re kind but not strong enough’ and ‘don’t bother speaking to that bloke – he doesn’t believe women should be in positions of leadership’,” Tribe wrote to NSW Liberal Party state director Richard Shields.

Her resignation has shone a fresh spotlight on female representation in Liberal ranks. Tribe, a former president of the Shoalhaven Business Chamber, announced in April she would run as an independent in the local government polls on September 14.

In her letter detailing reasons for her resignation from the Liberal Party after nearly 15 years, Tribe said while she had “long been disillusioned with the party” she had been “determined to stay and help ‘rebuild better’.”

“Unfortunately, there appears to be no real acknowledgement of the underlying issues. A few of us tried to establish ‘winning women’ based on the UK’s Women to Win to boost the number of young women in the party. We received no support.”

Tribe, 39, said the “many women I speak to on a daily basis in my age bracket feel the same as I do”, and that “as the only woman in her late 30s in the Liberal party in the Shoalhaven (now departing), there are none left to ask how to do better”.

“I sincerely hope the party can rectify that in the future.”

Tribe told the Herald the letter outlined “not even half of what I’ve experienced in the party” but “it was more to give [NSW Liberal Party headquarters] a flavour of what it’s really like on the ground”.

Tribe did not name individuals in the letter. She said the remarks about going on a “crash diet” had been made by a male in the party during the Gilmore preselection battle.

“For him, it came down to I wasn’t slim and attractive enough to be electable,” Tribe said.

“This has been my experience, where it felt like my merit didn’t matter. The party isn’t representative of the community it’s trying to represent, and it needs to look at why.”

A NSW Liberal Party spokesman said it had not been aware of Tribe’s complaints before her resignation.

“The Liberal Party takes such matters very seriously, and our code of conduct makes the behaviour standards expected of members very clear, allowing us to take action when standards are breached.”

Tribe’s exit also coincides with looming Liberal Party preselection battles for byelections in seats to be vacated by NSW ex-premier Dominic Perrottet and former treasurer Matt Kean this year.

Despite Kean’s long-time advocacy of women candidates, he has been criticised within the party for backing his protege, James Wallace, in the preselection race to replace him in the seat of Hornsby.

Perrottet’s former deputy chief of staff and daughter of senior frontbencher Damien Tudehope, Monica Tudehope, is viewed as the favourite to fill his vacancy in the seat of Epping.

Regarding the local council elections, the Liberal Party said it was putting forward “strong and capable” teams of diverse candidates. About 40 per cent of candidates endorsed so far were women, the spokesman said.

“The party has been working hard with our Women’s Council to support, mentor and train potential female candidates to help those who wish to put themselves forward as potential community representatives.”

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