Payne’s silence speaks volumes about the Liberal Party

Last Monday at Senate estimates, Labor senator Jenny McAllister put to Marise Payne a question that I have long wanted to ask myself: “Is it an impossible job being a minister for women in a Morrison government?”

Now I have made no secret of my feelings about our Minister for Women and the fact she has been effectively missing in action on how the pandemic has disproportionately affected women. She has also been conspicuously absent from the debate over the past six weeks on the treatment of women in the Liberal Party and in Australia generally. This glaring omission culminated in criticism that she had not attended, let alone addressed, a meeting of 400 Coalition staffers which Scott Morrison held behind closed doors last week to acknowledge the “absolute rubbish” female Liberals have had to deal with.

Marise Payne at a Senate estimates hearing on Monday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

I have also made no secret of my contempt for what has been referred to as the “handbag brigade”, the Liberal women paraded in front of the media to defend the indefensible, whenever it occurs. The most recent, egregious example: Anne Ruston, Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash’s spirited defence of “that” budget last financial year, which many women, including yours truly, rightly called out for failing to deliver for women. A highlight, no doubt, was Ruston feebly telling the ABC that women will enjoy driving on all those new roads that the government stimulus would fund.

Yet when McAllister asked Payne on Monday if it “is an impossible job being a minister for women in a Morrison government”, I have to admit even I felt for a minister so clearly under siege.

“No, senator,” was Payne’s response. And then there was a very long silence as both women exchanged what I can only describe as a knowing look that Payne’s answer was complete and utter bullshit.

Andrew Laming in Parliament on Wednesday.Credit: Andrew Meares

The week before, I watched on with similar unease when Channel 10 reporter Tegan George literally chased Payne through the halls of Parliament (the minister apparently tried to do a runner instead of a promised doorstop) to put to her this question: “Can you understand why Australian women feel disappointed and let down by you?”

A former boss of the Office for Women, Trish Bergin, has suggested that Morrison make the post of Minister for Women a standalone portfolio that maintains its place at the cabinet table, to ensure the portfolio gets the prominence it deserves. I don’t disagree, but I imagine whoever is in the role will be hampered by the fact a male-dominated Liberal Party demands the minister prioritise loyalty over speaking sense. And anyone would tire of being hauled out as an apologist for whatever nonsense their male peers get up to.

I cannot help but wonder if Payne and other Liberal women have been questioning the limits of their “soft diplomacy” in relation to this issue. But, to be fair, they are not entirely out of step with a softly, softly version of corporate feminism – asking for things nicely and making the “business case” while accepting crumbs from the table – that has dominated the landscape here in Australia for far too long and delivered few results.

“I get a sense that while fewer Liberal women have really spoken up publicly about the way the Prime Minister’s handling this or the way the party is handling this, I feel like maybe the dam is about to burst,” observed Tory Maguire in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Please Explain podcast on Wednesday. Maguire was right. By the end of the week, a number of high-profile Liberal women had wrestled with their conscience and indicated they’d had enough. Our Minister for Women, however, remained silent, even after her Coalition colleague Andrew Laming’s appalling treatment of two women was uncovered on Thursday.

Catherine Cusack, a long-serving NSW upper house MP, said the Prime Minister had failed to grasp any understanding of how diabolical politics has become for women. Of her own decision to speak out, Cusack later wrote: “it has reached a point where our personal integrity is being pitted against our loyalty”. She called on other Liberals to contact Scott Morrison and “tell him” of their concerns.

NSW Liberal MP Catherine Cusack has spoken out. Credit: Simone De Peak

Federal Industry Minister Karen Andrews told the ABC’s 7.30 that she’s had “an absolute gutful of the workplace culture” in Parliament House. She also said “her conscience would no longer allow her to stay silent”.

The Prime Minister has a responsibility here. He must create an environment where he not only seeks the counsel of women in his party, but where women in his party feel they can speak freely. And the women in the Liberal Party must speak passionately not only about the kinds of workplaces they want for themselves and their staff, but the kinds of changes we need to make Australia a safer and fairer place for all women.

If women in the Liberal Party and our Minister for Women can’t speak freely – or if they are sidelined, ignored or bullied into a complicit silence – then, as McAllister observed, what is the point of a minister for women in a Morrison government?

I am, of course, presuming that our current minister has something she would like to say. If that’s the case, I’m certainly listening.

Kristine Ziwica is a regular contributor. She tweets @KZiwica