Recently, Stephen Luntz from the Victorian Greens wrote that any problem with women belongs as much to the Coalition as it does to Opposition leader Tony Abbott, given women make up just 21% of Coalition parliamentarians. Here, Shadow Minister for the Status of Women Senator Michaelia Cash responds, saying Luntz failed to point out that he Liberal Party chooses its candidates based on merit, rather than pre-determined quotas.
As a Senator who was selected on merit, I am proud to represent a political party that believes that the selection of women for Parliament should recognise merit and excellence rather than a unilateral quota.
But the recent article by Stephen Luntz entitled “Where are the Women in the Liberal Party” fails to recognise that the Liberal Party chooses its candidates based on merit rather than pre-determined quotas.
Luntz also fails to recognise the Liberal Party of Australia’s very proud history of firsts when it comes to women in the Federal Parliament.
Enid Lyons won the seat of Darwin in Tasmania, becoming one of the first two women to be elected to the Commonwealth Parliament and the first to sit in the House of Representatives. In 1949 she was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council in the new Liberal-Country Party Ministry led by Prime Minister Menzies.
Senator Margaret Guilfoyle broke new ground in federal politics. Senator Guilfoyle’s achievements include being the first woman to be appointed a member of Cabinet with a specific portfolio and being the first woman to hold an economic portfolio (Finance). Senator Guilfoyle is also the second-longest serving female Minister in the Commonwealth Parliament serving from 1975 to 1983.
The Liberal Party’s Senator Margaret Reid is the first and only woman to have served as President of the Senate, one of the two most senior positions in the Commonwealth Parliament.
Senator Annabelle Rankin became the first Queensland woman to be elected to the Senate. She was also the first female whip in any Westminster Parliament when she became Opposition Whip in the Senate after taking up her seat in 1947. She then became the first female Government Whip in the Senate, a position she held for 15 years from 1951 to 1966.
Senator Helen Coonan was appointed Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer making her the first woman to hold an Australian Treasury portfolio since Federation.
Eight of the 10 longest serving women in the Commonwealth Parliament since 1901 are Liberal women.
Luntz in his article also says that “it would appear that any problem with women belongs at least as much to the entire Coalition machine as it does to Abbott”. It is disappointing, but hardly surprising, that in making this statement Luntz failed to make any mention of the positive achievements of Tony Abbott and the former Howard Government when it comes to delivering real policy outcomes for women.
Let’s look at the facts in relation to the Liberal Party’s record on delivering real policy outcomes for women.
As Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Abbott amended the Sex Discrimination Act to explicitly recognise breastfeeding as a potential ground of unlawful dismissal in the workplace. He was also responsible for the passage of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act in 2000.
As Health Minister between 2003 and 2007, Abbott was responsible for increased funding for successful screening programs for cervical cancer. He also listed Anastrozole on the PBS for treatment of early stage breast cancer allowing around 5,700 new patients to become eligible for treatment in the first 12 months of the extended listing. Herceptin was also listed on the PBS for treatment of early stage breast cancer with around 2,000 patients commencing Herceptin in the first full financial year of listing.
Tony Abbott also championed the funding for the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil. The National HPV Vaccine Program provided free Gardasil to women and girls aged 12 to 26, with $537 million committed between 2006 and 2010 for the program.
The Coalition offered assistance to women facing the difficulties of infertility by subsidising treatment, including Assisted Reproductive Technology services through Medicare and the PBS. (And let’s not forget that Labor tried to overturn this policy in 2009 when they faced a budget squeeze).
As Opposition leader, Tony Abbott has committed to introduce a comprehensive Paid Parental Leave scheme should we gain government at the next election. The Coalition’s scheme provides real money to working women, offering eligible women 26 weeks at their replacement wage. Unlike Labor’s scheme, the Coalition’s PPL scheme includes superannuation which is an important step in addressing the chronic disparity between male and female retirement incomes.
In his article Luntz seeks to highlight that currently at a federal level, 60% of the Greens’ Party Parliamentary members are women. It is a pity that Luntz did not tell us if these women members were merit or gender based selections. Luntz fails to mention that until this current Government’s term, it was the Liberal Party that had made seven out of the 10 appointments of women to Cabinet since federation – and the majority were made under former prime minister Howard.
The achievements of the former Howard government and the policies of a future Abbott government are testament to the commitment of the Liberal Party to recognising, protecting and enhancing the position of and opportunities for Australian women.
As a Liberal Senator, I am proud to be part of a political party that had the foresight to encourage, endorse and support the first women to the Federal Parliament. I am also proud to be a member of a political party that has actively supported and promoted women through policies, strategies, services and benefits that have been specifically designed to strengthen the legal, economic, social, cultural and political dimensions of women’s lives.