Sussan Ley encourages ‘assertive women' to join Liberals in rebuff to party elder's controversial comment
The opposition leader has encouraged 'assertive women' to join the Liberals, hitting back at controversial comments made by a party elder.
Sussan Ley, the first female leader of the federal Coalition, said her party must reflect a modern Australia after the Liberal's former federal president Alan Stockdale reportedly claimed women had become 'so assertive' the party might need to consider support for men.
'There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman, in fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal party,' she said in a statement on Thursday.
'The Liberal party must reflect, respect and represent modern Australia and that means recognising the strength, merit and leadership of the women in our ranks.'
Stockdale, who was treasurer under ex-Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, made the comments at the women's executive gathering on Tuesday night.
'The women in this party are so assertive now that we may needs some special rules for men to get them preselected,' the 80-year-old told a meeting of the NSW Liberal Women's Council, the Daily Telegraph reported.
He later told the Telegraph he had made 'a lighthearted but poorly chosen remark'.
Deputy opposition leader Ted O'Brien questioned Stockdale's comments, appealing to strong women to join the Liberals.
'To any of the assertive women out there, the Liberal Party is your party,' he told ABC's News Breakfast on Thursday.
'We need more women engaging with our party, running for our party.
'I'm proud to have Sussan Ley as our leader.'
The Liberals have long been accused of having a 'women problem' as female candidates are often placed in unwinnable positions and the party has lost support from female voter bases.
This was laid bare at its landslide federal election loss in May.
During the campaign, the Liberal party announced a policy requiring public servants to stop working from home.
It was blamed for alienating women voters, many of whom use working from home to balance their jobs with child care and other duties.
The NSW division of the Liberal party, in particular, has been in turmoil after it failed to nominate more than 140 candidates for the state-wide local government elections in September.
The federal Liberals soon took over and appointed three figures, including Stockdale, to oversee the party's state affairs.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and former Labor premier for Queensland Anna Palaszczuk joined forces to condemn Stockdale's remarks.
'Honestly, Alan, read the room,' Senator McKenzie told Nine's Today show on Thursday.
'It was a shocking comment - I think it's time for Alan to head back to the Melbourne Club, have a stiff whisky and chat with the old boys about what went wrong.'
Palaszczuk said she couldn't believe it.
'You've finally got one step forward for the Liberal party with Sussan Ley being elected [federal leader], and it's three steps backwards with these comments,' she told Today.
'These are not appropriate in this day and age, and honestly, the Liberal party needs a good hard look at themselves, especially the men.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Labor reveals plan to deliver 1.2million new homes
Breaking ground on delivering 1.2million homes starts by untangling the maze of bureaucratic approvals, the federal government says. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has signalled a second-term Labor administration will move quickly to boost construction. 'We've just been elected with a really clear mandate to improve our housing system in this country,' she told reporters on Saturday. 'We've got big reforms to implement, and not a day to waste in getting on with them.' The minister vowed to simplify local, state and federal planning regulations by leading a council of planning ministers. 'If we are going to address the housing needs of Australians, it is going to require the three levels of government to work together in new ways,' she said. She will work with the building sector to implement innovative technologies to move past time consuming and costly methods of construction. Her comments come after an interview with ABC on Friday where she said 'builders face a ridiculous thicket of red tape that is preventing them building the homes we need.' Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the cost of building a home had skyrocketed by 40 per cent over the past five years while construction times had ballooned by 80 per cent over the past decade. 'It is critical that we remove the red tape that is hampering our capacity to build homes,' she said. Ms Wawn was hopeful the ambitious goal of 1.2million homes coming onto the market would be achieved, but said the group's projections showed there could be a slight drop-off. She argued that along with the focus on reducing red tape, there was an urgent need to apprenticeships and fast-tracking migration for skilled people. 'For the first time, the federal government is leaning in and trying to ensure that there is a focused attention on housing,' she said. But opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said the government's plans were a 'joke' and described Labor as 'red tape champions.' 'Labor's signature housing policy, the Housing Australia Future Fund has built zero new homes in three years,' Senator Bragg said. 'Approvals are way down under their watch and their 1.2million new home target is a dead duck.' The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Australia on Tuesday to boost housing supply and address falling affordability. The OECD said easing zoning restrictions would strengthen competition and productivity, as well as raise housing investment to 'reverse the long-standing decline in housing affordability'.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
War of words erupts between Bob Katter and Terri Irwin as they clash over controversial croc culling bill
Veteran MP Bob Katter has launched an attack on Dr Terri Irwin after she criticised his party's bill to cull crocodile populations in Queensland. The Irwin matriarch was among 175 submissions made to the state government on the proposed legislation and described it as 'more dangerous than previous efforts'. 'It is such a lazy and sloppy attempt to recycle old draft legislation,' she said on behalf of Australia Zoo. She noted the bill referenced the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection which has not been referred to as that since 2017. 'The Introductory Speech and Explanatory Notes is very selective in its use of statistics and contains many inaccuracies and "fake news",' Dr Irwin continued. 'However, it is the new, poorly-designed parts of the Bill which make this proposed legislation even more dangerous than previous efforts.' Katter's Australian Party (KAP) introduced the Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill 2025 in February to 'eliminate crocodiles which pose a threat to human life' while protecting them from going extinct. In response to Dr Irwin's 21-page submission, the party founder took to his Facebook page on Friday to attack her credentials. 'A lady, Mrs Irwin. She said that I'm a dangerous person, and it's the only time I've ever agreed with her in my life,' Katter said to the camera. 'She knows all about crocodiles. Well, that's rather fascinating for me because she lives in Brisbane, and I work with the top crocodile handlers in the world. 'Versace and the other big fashion houses have huge crocodile farms here. 'How would you know all about crocodiles if you live in Brisbane? Oh that's right, she's got them all locked up in a cage in Brisbane.' KAP MP for Hill Shane Knuth, who submitted the bill, joined the pile-on. 'The Irwin's built a multimillion dollar business off the back of crocodiles,' he wrote on Facebook. 'And now they're lecturing North Queenslanders on how to enjoy our recreational waterways while they're infested with crocs - and getting worse. 'Spare us the patronising 'Crocwise' slogans. We don't need a zoo telling us how to survive in our own backyard.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Dr Irwin and Australia Zoo for comment. Australia Zoo is not the only organisation to oppose the proposed legislation, with PETA Australia raising two concerns in its own submission. 'We highlight crocodiles' sentience and individuality and refute that they are 'pest' animals who must be eradicated so humans can occupy their natural habitats,' it said. The group secondly opposed the Bill's proposed 'payment from a quota of 'High-End Clients' who wish to live harvest the crocodile'. It suggested the detail 'hints at allowing safari-style hunting of crocodiles'. Hartley's Creek Crocodile Farming Company also opposed the bill, suggesting that it would 'destroy the export industry'. A public hearing and briefing on the proposed legislation is due to be held in Brisbane on June 11.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australian universities urge Albanese to join New Zealand in $170bn Europe fund amid Trump attacks on education
Australian universities are urging the Albanese government to join New Zealand in a $170bn Europe research fund amid US president Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on higher education and international students. Universities Australia's executive officer, Luke Sheehy, travelled to Brussels this week to meet representatives from the European Commission and the Australian ambassador, Angus Campbell, to discuss the possibility of joining Horizon Europe. The seven-year scientific collaborative research fund, with a budget of €95.5bn ($168bn), has 20 non-European partners – including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada – but the Australian government has so far been reluctant to join. Industry insiders have attributed the government's reluctance to potential costs. New Zealand will pay €19m ($33m) over five years to be part of the program. The EU is drawing up strategies for the next seven-year funding cycle, due to begin in 2028, with a proposal expected to be announced mid-year. About €36bn ($63bn) is still available to the end of 2027. In comparison, Australia's total annual spend on research across all sectors is less than $40bn. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Sheehy said in a rapidly changing global environment, association with the body would give Australian researchers access to a mega-fund and support international collaboration on key sectors, including health and the environment. 'Growing geopolitical uncertainties are threatening to reshape our existing research alliances and we must adapt to remain ahead of the game,' he said. 'If we're serious about building a prosperous and productive economy, we need a seat at the table, particularly in a changing and more complex global environment.' The trade minister, Don Farrell, is in Paris this week restarting negotiations on a trade deal with the EU. Sheehy 'strongly encourage[d]' him to make Australia's involvement in Horizon Europe a focus of conversations. 'There is a strong appetite in Europe to have Australia come on board,' Sheehy said. 'This would remove the biggest roadblock for Australian researchers and scientists working with their European and other counterparts around the world. It's mutually beneficial. 'For what is a relatively modest investment, our best and brightest would gain access to billions of dollars in potential funding to take their work to the next level.' The higher eduction sector has closely focussed on Horizon Europe since the Trump administration was accused of possible 'foreign interference' in Australia's universities in March, pausing funding for programs at more than six universities. Researchers who receive US funding were sent a questionnaire asking them to confirm they aligned with US government interests and promoted administration priorities – including avoiding 'DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal'. Australia's Group of Eight CEO, Vicki Thomson, wrote to then-industry minister, Ed Husic, earlier this year on behalf of its member universities and the European Australian Business Council (EABC) CEO, Jason Collins, urging Australia to associate with the research fund. It has prepared a brief for the ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, at his request. Thomson, also the EABC deputy chair, has lobbied the government to join Horizon Europe for more than a decade. She will be meeting with stakeholders for negotiations in the next fortnight as part of an EABC delegation to Europe. Thomson said association with Horizon Europe was 'critical' to boosting productivity and providing essential buffers against negative global trends. 'Like trade, changes to the global research funding environment are also sending shocks around the world,' she said. 'The US is withdrawing from international research collaboration through the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies as well as defunding research in diversity, equity and inclusion. 'In the face of this, it is imperative that Australia maintains and extends international research collaboration through formal association with Horizon Europe.' The Australian Academy of Science president, Prof Chennupati Jagadish AC, also wants Australia to join the lucrative research fund, pointing to a possible research vacuum in the face of an increasingly unstable US. In April, the body announced a new global talent attraction program to capitalise on academics disfranchised by the Trump administration's research cuts. Americans represent 40% of collaborators in Australian physical sciences publications – including observational systems relied on for cyclone tracking capability and onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing. Jagadish said the government must 'immediately act to diversify risk' by expanding international research collaborations, focusing on Horizon Europe. The industry minister, Madeleine King, was approached for comment.
