But watching Question Time this afternoon, you could be forgiven for thinking there was something noticeably missing.
Now we’ve been hearing for weeks about the Liberal Party’s so called ‘problem with women’, but today the problem was on full display, playing out as the lack of women present. At least for those of us watching on from home or work.
Of course there were some women there, Kelly O’Dwyer did take to the dispatch box to answer a question and the were a couple that could be seen when the cameras took a wider angle, but few could be spotted from the live feed shared on televisions across Australia, especially as Prime Minister Scott Morrison got up to speak.
Typically, female MPs are seated — some might say strategically — behind the dispatch box, so as to give the vibe, on televisions at least, that it’s not a male-dominated affair.
That wasn’t the case today, with the usual Ann Sudmalis no longer present. Last month Sudmalis announced she would be leaving Parliament due to what she described as bullying in the Liberal party.
Her announcement followed an earlier one by MP Julia Banks, who said she would also be leaving politics at the next election, as well as the news that former Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop would be moving to the backbench.
Might be time for a seat swap? That depends on who the Liberal party thinks needs the visibility more.
Lads, #auspol edition pic.twitter.com/iAMDCOJVWD
— Brett Worthington (@BWorthington_) October 15, 2018
Meanwhile, Question Time saw repeated questions from Opposition leader Bill Shorten asking if Morrison would join the Labor party to ‘ensure teachers can’t be sacked because of who they love.”
There was also a question about Nauru, with independent Cathy McGowan asking the Prime Minister what it would take for him to accept the offer from New Zealand to resettle children and their families.
Morrison responded by saying his government is dealing “with the legacy of Labor’s failure” and that “decisions about medical transfers are made on a case-by-case basis.” He rejected New Zealand as an option because he’s seen advice that “people smugglers are marketing New Zealand as a destination as a backdoor for Australia” and the legislation they have introduced to prevent movement of people into Australia from NZ isn’t supported by the opposition.