The outgoing president of the Federal Liberal Council Alan Stockdale has described the underrepresentation of women as an important concern for the party.
“The party needs to attract and retain more women as office bearers as candidates and as MPs. This should be seen as a key priority for the party as a whole,” Stockdale said.
After six years as president Stockdale will be replaced by former government minister Richard Alston, who was elected on Friday. Alston concurred with his predecessor that the issue of attracting and retaining women requires consideration.
“I think most people have said tonight, ‘We’ve got to look at any barriers that there might be.’ But we’ve had some very good women come through, so it’s not that somehow they’re actively discouraged,” he said. “I think we just have to facilitate a greater level of involvement and if there are people out there wanting to stand, well, we’d be delighted to have them.”
Both Stockdale and Alston echoed the points raised by retiring Senator Sue Boyce in her valedictory speech. In a frank farewell Boyce said she had personally “failed” in boosting the representation of women. “But so, I think, has our party at both the state and the federal level,” Senator Boyce said. “It is obvious that if we want more women in cabinet we need more women in parliament. The current 22 per cent figure is just not good enough. Improving this pathetic figure must be the job of every party member and every party employee.”
Richard Alston said that overcoming some of the hurdles of a political career might help to attract more females into the party.
“People can often be put off by what they might see as being away from home all the time or it not being very family friendly and I think we have to make some allowances for those sorts of things,” Alston said. “If we can do that in a way that’s compatible with people doing their duties then I think we will find more.”
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