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‘Majority of Australians' see Welcome to Country as divisive

‘Majority of Australians' see Welcome to Country as divisive

Sky News AU10 hours ago

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio discusses the overuse of Welcome to Country ceremonies.
'A new poll out today has found the majority of Australians, about 56 per cent of us believe Welcome to Country ceremonies are divisive,' Ms De Giorgio said.
'Are they really necessary?'

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Sussan Ley should harness her inner Margaret Thatcher if she wants Aussie women back on side
Sussan Ley should harness her inner Margaret Thatcher if she wants Aussie women back on side

Sky News AU

timean hour ago

  • Sky News AU

Sussan Ley should harness her inner Margaret Thatcher if she wants Aussie women back on side

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley blended autobiography with political reckoning when she delivered her sweeping address this week to the National Press Club. Her remarks and anecdotes were deeply personal, clearly intended to help restore the Liberal Party's damaged credibility after its devastating election defeat. But her speech and earnest manner was also a direct overture to a critical cohort her party had discarded as if we were a one-night stand. That would be Australian women who felt marginalised, taken for granted and in response ultimately showed her predecessor Peter Dutton a metaphorical middle finger on May 3. The question is - will we now listen and will her plea to the nation work? While Mr Dutton distanced himself from the symbolic recognition of indigenous Australians at public functions, Ms Ley has chosen a different path and opened her address with the words: "I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today." Her gesture was loud and clear. To quote Ms Ley as the first woman elected to lead the Liberal party, she absolutely must follow through on this promise. 'I'm not here to speak about milestones or firsts,' she warned the room. 'I'm here to talk about the important work we are going to do over the next three years to rebuild trust with Australians so we're worthy of their support at the next election.' In Canberra on Tuesday, there was certainly some powerful stuff from Ms Ley about how she dug herself out of economic hardship. In a polished and prepared manner, she took the assembled lunch guests back to her 1980s. 'Between graduating from school and becoming - as I described myself - a farmer's wife, I worked my share of the tough jobs,' she said. 'Cleaner, waitress, short order cook … and outback pilot. I was not taken seriously in pilot training. I was nearly always the only woman in the group. 'The privileged boys whose parents bankrolled their lessons attracted more street cred than me. 'I lived in a bedsit under the bridge in Queanbeyan and my clothes were from Vinnie's because every dollar I made went towards flying lessons.' By painting herself as the anti-privilege politician bereft of silver spoons and inner-city elitism, Ms Ley is banking on this narrative cutting through. This is especially among women outside the Teal belt and in the regions - the ones juggling night shifts and school drop-offs, stretching every dollar to cover eye-popping grocery bills or trying to claw their way back into the workforce in their 40s. Ms Ley explained: 'I understand just how tough it can be for those who live a life on the land. 'Balancing the family budget was becoming too hard so I made a decision that many mums have made before (to) get new skills and bring in extra income. 'As I raised my own family I went to university for the first time, aged 30.' Then there was the sting of dismissiveness in blokeish industries, endemic in her generation. 'One male (flying) instructor said 'Why are you doing this? You're no good at it'. I wasn't, to begin with, but that's not the point. 'I was told I couldn't get a crop dusting rating because the chemicals would damage my unborn children. 'I was yelled at, hit on and then ignored. In my early 20s I was working in air traffic control at Sydney airport (as) I wanted to pursue something different. 'I wanted to actually fly. I advertised my recently acquired skills as an aerial mustering pilot in rural newspapers across the country.' She went on to recount the job-hunting hustle including one call to a cashed-up grazier who didn't bother with small talk. First question: 'Can you cook?' followed immediately by: 'What sort of plane do you want?' She said: 'A machinery dealer asked if I was single and mentioned vague extracurricular activities' which got a ripple of laughter in the room. Later changing tack, Ms Ley hit a rare emotional register for a Liberal leader, especially on coercive control in domestic relationships and the threat of violence against women. Ms Ley's candid acknowledgment - 'I understand the fear you feel when you walk alone because I have felt it too' - is the kind of vulnerability that can resonate and long overdue for a party that's struggled to connect with women on this issue. Overall, it was an hour plus speech anchored in lived experience. But I'm wary of terms like existential 'review' and 'reflect and represent modern Australia' which seem like code for soft Left. And a bit of retro sexism will not cut it when the Liberal Party has been promising to 'do better' on female representation for decades and yes it was a relief to hear Ms Ley say she was 'agnostic' on quotas. Politically engaged women - and that is the vast majority of us in 'modern Australia' - want targets and action but based on merit and skills. The impact and style of the late British MP Maggie Thatcher inevitably crops up when analysing an Australian female political leader and with good reason. When she took control of the UK's Conservative Party in 1975, Mrs Thatcher inherited an outfit that had lost not only an election but its sense of purpose. The Tories were drifting, cowed by the Left's narrative and unsure of what they even stood for. Familiar, ain't it just. The Iron Lady, a nickname from a Soviet journalist and one I'm told she loved, didn't seek consensus. Individual responsibility was a passion point for her. Mrs Thatcher smashed it and spoke directly to the people in an uncompromising style which transformed not just her party but her beloved country. Women today aren't voting for inspirational backstories as a type of therapy. We're voting on policies that affect our wallets and families. Get that right Ms Ley and you might find Australian women back on side. Louise Roberts is a journalist and editor who has worked as a TV and radio commentator in Australia, the UK and the US. Louise is a winner of the Peter Ruehl Award for Outstanding Columnist in the NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism and has been shortlisted in other awards for her opinion work

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