Latest news with #NSWLiberalWomen'sCouncil
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Liberal men want a leg up? How about a boot back to the 18th century where they belong
Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. This is the language I reserve for polite company. And that polite phrase is probably being muttered in the homes of many a Liberal this week as news of the latest party faux pas filters through. Worse than nuclear. Worse than work-from-home. These, at least, were policies devised after deliberation (I think) and collaboration (I hope). That's how it's supposed to happen in modern, successful political parties. But on Tuesday night, something totally unscripted blew up. There was yet another virtual meeting, this time with the NSW Liberal Women's Council, to figure out how to save the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, in trouble because it failed to nominate folks for local council elections in 2024. Any folks at all. Anyhow, it was Peter Dutton's idea to mount a federal takeover in order to review the NSW branch (seriously, he should have looked a little closer to home). Doing most of the talking was ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale. He and his co-conspirator former Victorian senator Richard Alston sat themselves in front of a portrait of the Liberal Party's founding father. Guess they thought Robert Menzies would give them gravitas. The hilariously unkind SMH journalist Alex Smith who broke the story described them as having a combined age of 164. Anyhow, Stockdale said something along the lines of ... women are now "sufficiently assertive" in the Liberal Party that it is probably time to start giving blokes a leg up. Hahahahahaha. Also, aargghh. But these blokes, accompanied by their silent partner, Peta Seaton, want an extension of the term of their review. If I were Sussan Ley, I'd send them back to where they came from. The 18th century. Now it's clear to even the most casual reader of my columns that my politics in no way align with the Liberal Party. But I have written many a column supporting women in the Liberal Party because in every instance, women deserve the same opportunities as those offered to men. And for some unfathomable reason, the Liberal Party doesn't treat women in the same way as it treats men. Which, in some ways, is good for the rest of us. Unless it starts to accept women as equal participants, it is unlikely it will ever again get much traction in a country where women hold up (more than) half the sky. Among women, this comment by Stockdale further trashes the Liberal brand. As one woman, a longtime member of the Liberal Party, told me on Wednesday night after news of the "leg up" incident had broken: "It is both aggravating and tiresome at the same time. I want to scream, and also just walk away as so many have before me." She says: "I'm not the least bit surprised by what's described in the article. These blokes are dinosaurs. And while the offensive comments were by Stockdale, not Alston, they could just have easily been Alston." Misogynist men in the Liberal Party are apparently interchangeable. And it is baked in. Let me tell you the story of a woman who'd been chief of staff in a Liberal member's office. After the birth of her kid, her former boss suggested she work as an electoral officer, on about one-third of her previous salary. He said, to her face: "But it's a second income." Jesus fellas. This is not how it works anymore. When women work, they need the money as much as they need the work. It's not disposable. It's indispensable. Another Liberal woman tells me she offered to help with the review of the Liberal Party after the election loss in 2022. Hilariously, she tells me that when she called to throw herself into the mix for membership of the review, she explained she had insight into why the teals were stealing Liberal seats. "Let's face it, most of my friends are teal voters and I'm somewhat partial to them myself," she laughs. But the bloke she talked to basically dismissed her. He said to her: "If you have any feedback, send an email to the Vic state director." "I couldn't even reply, I was so pissed off at being dismissed and yet again not seriously considered." Let me take you back to 2021. It was already clear then, a year out from the 2022 federal election, that the Coalition was on the nose with women. Three separate polling organisations revealed a sharp shift of women away from the government: Essential, Resolve Monitor, NewsPoll. And why? For once, all women could agree. The way that former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, allegedly raped in Parliament House, was treated by those in the then Coalition government was appalling. If this was how the government treated one of its own, how would it treat others? As former Liberal MP Julia Banks, in her tell-some memoir Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and Boys' Clubs, put it, "The painful experience for this woman was compounded by the Morrison government's incompetence, mismanagement and lack of accountability and humanity." Higgins, miraculously, has survived that mayhem and has now landed a gig with the lovely Hannah Moreno at Third Hemisphere. But not everyone survives. Higgins barely did. But the Liberals did not survive their rejection by women, not in 2022 and not in 2025. And they won't recover if they don't change. READ MORE: Which, sure, I am chill about. Who wants a party which says we can't work from home? Who wants a party which says nuclear power is the way forward? Hey babes, by the time you get back into power, in say, 2040, the renewables war will have been won. Please put your reactors back in your pants. My advice to you is this. You can't wait for the Stockdales and the Alstons to die. Blokes with plenty of money can afford the kind of healthcare which will keep them alive and kicking for years ahead. But the problem is they are not capable of changing. In the meantime, the Liberal Party itself may die. Want it to change? Sign yourselves up to Hilma's Network. Its founder, Charlotte Mortlock, launched a petition calling on the party to establish gender quotas. And push for them. That's what helped the Labor Party change. If the Liberals ever want to be in power again, they need to change too. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. This is the language I reserve for polite company. And that polite phrase is probably being muttered in the homes of many a Liberal this week as news of the latest party faux pas filters through. Worse than nuclear. Worse than work-from-home. These, at least, were policies devised after deliberation (I think) and collaboration (I hope). That's how it's supposed to happen in modern, successful political parties. But on Tuesday night, something totally unscripted blew up. There was yet another virtual meeting, this time with the NSW Liberal Women's Council, to figure out how to save the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, in trouble because it failed to nominate folks for local council elections in 2024. Any folks at all. Anyhow, it was Peter Dutton's idea to mount a federal takeover in order to review the NSW branch (seriously, he should have looked a little closer to home). Doing most of the talking was ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale. He and his co-conspirator former Victorian senator Richard Alston sat themselves in front of a portrait of the Liberal Party's founding father. Guess they thought Robert Menzies would give them gravitas. The hilariously unkind SMH journalist Alex Smith who broke the story described them as having a combined age of 164. Anyhow, Stockdale said something along the lines of ... women are now "sufficiently assertive" in the Liberal Party that it is probably time to start giving blokes a leg up. Hahahahahaha. Also, aargghh. But these blokes, accompanied by their silent partner, Peta Seaton, want an extension of the term of their review. If I were Sussan Ley, I'd send them back to where they came from. The 18th century. Now it's clear to even the most casual reader of my columns that my politics in no way align with the Liberal Party. But I have written many a column supporting women in the Liberal Party because in every instance, women deserve the same opportunities as those offered to men. And for some unfathomable reason, the Liberal Party doesn't treat women in the same way as it treats men. Which, in some ways, is good for the rest of us. Unless it starts to accept women as equal participants, it is unlikely it will ever again get much traction in a country where women hold up (more than) half the sky. Among women, this comment by Stockdale further trashes the Liberal brand. As one woman, a longtime member of the Liberal Party, told me on Wednesday night after news of the "leg up" incident had broken: "It is both aggravating and tiresome at the same time. I want to scream, and also just walk away as so many have before me." She says: "I'm not the least bit surprised by what's described in the article. These blokes are dinosaurs. And while the offensive comments were by Stockdale, not Alston, they could just have easily been Alston." Misogynist men in the Liberal Party are apparently interchangeable. And it is baked in. Let me tell you the story of a woman who'd been chief of staff in a Liberal member's office. After the birth of her kid, her former boss suggested she work as an electoral officer, on about one-third of her previous salary. He said, to her face: "But it's a second income." Jesus fellas. This is not how it works anymore. When women work, they need the money as much as they need the work. It's not disposable. It's indispensable. Another Liberal woman tells me she offered to help with the review of the Liberal Party after the election loss in 2022. Hilariously, she tells me that when she called to throw herself into the mix for membership of the review, she explained she had insight into why the teals were stealing Liberal seats. "Let's face it, most of my friends are teal voters and I'm somewhat partial to them myself," she laughs. But the bloke she talked to basically dismissed her. He said to her: "If you have any feedback, send an email to the Vic state director." "I couldn't even reply, I was so pissed off at being dismissed and yet again not seriously considered." Let me take you back to 2021. It was already clear then, a year out from the 2022 federal election, that the Coalition was on the nose with women. Three separate polling organisations revealed a sharp shift of women away from the government: Essential, Resolve Monitor, NewsPoll. And why? For once, all women could agree. The way that former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, allegedly raped in Parliament House, was treated by those in the then Coalition government was appalling. If this was how the government treated one of its own, how would it treat others? As former Liberal MP Julia Banks, in her tell-some memoir Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and Boys' Clubs, put it, "The painful experience for this woman was compounded by the Morrison government's incompetence, mismanagement and lack of accountability and humanity." Higgins, miraculously, has survived that mayhem and has now landed a gig with the lovely Hannah Moreno at Third Hemisphere. But not everyone survives. Higgins barely did. But the Liberals did not survive their rejection by women, not in 2022 and not in 2025. And they won't recover if they don't change. READ MORE: Which, sure, I am chill about. Who wants a party which says we can't work from home? Who wants a party which says nuclear power is the way forward? Hey babes, by the time you get back into power, in say, 2040, the renewables war will have been won. Please put your reactors back in your pants. My advice to you is this. You can't wait for the Stockdales and the Alstons to die. Blokes with plenty of money can afford the kind of healthcare which will keep them alive and kicking for years ahead. But the problem is they are not capable of changing. In the meantime, the Liberal Party itself may die. Want it to change? Sign yourselves up to Hilma's Network. Its founder, Charlotte Mortlock, launched a petition calling on the party to establish gender quotas. And push for them. That's what helped the Labor Party change. If the Liberals ever want to be in power again, they need to change too. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. This is the language I reserve for polite company. And that polite phrase is probably being muttered in the homes of many a Liberal this week as news of the latest party faux pas filters through. Worse than nuclear. Worse than work-from-home. These, at least, were policies devised after deliberation (I think) and collaboration (I hope). That's how it's supposed to happen in modern, successful political parties. But on Tuesday night, something totally unscripted blew up. There was yet another virtual meeting, this time with the NSW Liberal Women's Council, to figure out how to save the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, in trouble because it failed to nominate folks for local council elections in 2024. Any folks at all. Anyhow, it was Peter Dutton's idea to mount a federal takeover in order to review the NSW branch (seriously, he should have looked a little closer to home). Doing most of the talking was ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale. He and his co-conspirator former Victorian senator Richard Alston sat themselves in front of a portrait of the Liberal Party's founding father. Guess they thought Robert Menzies would give them gravitas. The hilariously unkind SMH journalist Alex Smith who broke the story described them as having a combined age of 164. Anyhow, Stockdale said something along the lines of ... women are now "sufficiently assertive" in the Liberal Party that it is probably time to start giving blokes a leg up. Hahahahahaha. Also, aargghh. But these blokes, accompanied by their silent partner, Peta Seaton, want an extension of the term of their review. If I were Sussan Ley, I'd send them back to where they came from. The 18th century. Now it's clear to even the most casual reader of my columns that my politics in no way align with the Liberal Party. But I have written many a column supporting women in the Liberal Party because in every instance, women deserve the same opportunities as those offered to men. And for some unfathomable reason, the Liberal Party doesn't treat women in the same way as it treats men. Which, in some ways, is good for the rest of us. Unless it starts to accept women as equal participants, it is unlikely it will ever again get much traction in a country where women hold up (more than) half the sky. Among women, this comment by Stockdale further trashes the Liberal brand. As one woman, a longtime member of the Liberal Party, told me on Wednesday night after news of the "leg up" incident had broken: "It is both aggravating and tiresome at the same time. I want to scream, and also just walk away as so many have before me." She says: "I'm not the least bit surprised by what's described in the article. These blokes are dinosaurs. And while the offensive comments were by Stockdale, not Alston, they could just have easily been Alston." Misogynist men in the Liberal Party are apparently interchangeable. And it is baked in. Let me tell you the story of a woman who'd been chief of staff in a Liberal member's office. After the birth of her kid, her former boss suggested she work as an electoral officer, on about one-third of her previous salary. He said, to her face: "But it's a second income." Jesus fellas. This is not how it works anymore. When women work, they need the money as much as they need the work. It's not disposable. It's indispensable. Another Liberal woman tells me she offered to help with the review of the Liberal Party after the election loss in 2022. Hilariously, she tells me that when she called to throw herself into the mix for membership of the review, she explained she had insight into why the teals were stealing Liberal seats. "Let's face it, most of my friends are teal voters and I'm somewhat partial to them myself," she laughs. But the bloke she talked to basically dismissed her. He said to her: "If you have any feedback, send an email to the Vic state director." "I couldn't even reply, I was so pissed off at being dismissed and yet again not seriously considered." Let me take you back to 2021. It was already clear then, a year out from the 2022 federal election, that the Coalition was on the nose with women. Three separate polling organisations revealed a sharp shift of women away from the government: Essential, Resolve Monitor, NewsPoll. And why? For once, all women could agree. The way that former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, allegedly raped in Parliament House, was treated by those in the then Coalition government was appalling. If this was how the government treated one of its own, how would it treat others? As former Liberal MP Julia Banks, in her tell-some memoir Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and Boys' Clubs, put it, "The painful experience for this woman was compounded by the Morrison government's incompetence, mismanagement and lack of accountability and humanity." Higgins, miraculously, has survived that mayhem and has now landed a gig with the lovely Hannah Moreno at Third Hemisphere. But not everyone survives. Higgins barely did. But the Liberals did not survive their rejection by women, not in 2022 and not in 2025. And they won't recover if they don't change. READ MORE: Which, sure, I am chill about. Who wants a party which says we can't work from home? Who wants a party which says nuclear power is the way forward? Hey babes, by the time you get back into power, in say, 2040, the renewables war will have been won. Please put your reactors back in your pants. My advice to you is this. You can't wait for the Stockdales and the Alstons to die. Blokes with plenty of money can afford the kind of healthcare which will keep them alive and kicking for years ahead. But the problem is they are not capable of changing. In the meantime, the Liberal Party itself may die. Want it to change? Sign yourselves up to Hilma's Network. Its founder, Charlotte Mortlock, launched a petition calling on the party to establish gender quotas. And push for them. That's what helped the Labor Party change. If the Liberals ever want to be in power again, they need to change too. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. This is the language I reserve for polite company. And that polite phrase is probably being muttered in the homes of many a Liberal this week as news of the latest party faux pas filters through. Worse than nuclear. Worse than work-from-home. These, at least, were policies devised after deliberation (I think) and collaboration (I hope). That's how it's supposed to happen in modern, successful political parties. But on Tuesday night, something totally unscripted blew up. There was yet another virtual meeting, this time with the NSW Liberal Women's Council, to figure out how to save the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, in trouble because it failed to nominate folks for local council elections in 2024. Any folks at all. Anyhow, it was Peter Dutton's idea to mount a federal takeover in order to review the NSW branch (seriously, he should have looked a little closer to home). Doing most of the talking was ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale. He and his co-conspirator former Victorian senator Richard Alston sat themselves in front of a portrait of the Liberal Party's founding father. Guess they thought Robert Menzies would give them gravitas. The hilariously unkind SMH journalist Alex Smith who broke the story described them as having a combined age of 164. Anyhow, Stockdale said something along the lines of ... women are now "sufficiently assertive" in the Liberal Party that it is probably time to start giving blokes a leg up. Hahahahahaha. Also, aargghh. But these blokes, accompanied by their silent partner, Peta Seaton, want an extension of the term of their review. If I were Sussan Ley, I'd send them back to where they came from. The 18th century. Now it's clear to even the most casual reader of my columns that my politics in no way align with the Liberal Party. But I have written many a column supporting women in the Liberal Party because in every instance, women deserve the same opportunities as those offered to men. And for some unfathomable reason, the Liberal Party doesn't treat women in the same way as it treats men. Which, in some ways, is good for the rest of us. Unless it starts to accept women as equal participants, it is unlikely it will ever again get much traction in a country where women hold up (more than) half the sky. Among women, this comment by Stockdale further trashes the Liberal brand. As one woman, a longtime member of the Liberal Party, told me on Wednesday night after news of the "leg up" incident had broken: "It is both aggravating and tiresome at the same time. I want to scream, and also just walk away as so many have before me." She says: "I'm not the least bit surprised by what's described in the article. These blokes are dinosaurs. And while the offensive comments were by Stockdale, not Alston, they could just have easily been Alston." Misogynist men in the Liberal Party are apparently interchangeable. And it is baked in. Let me tell you the story of a woman who'd been chief of staff in a Liberal member's office. After the birth of her kid, her former boss suggested she work as an electoral officer, on about one-third of her previous salary. He said, to her face: "But it's a second income." Jesus fellas. This is not how it works anymore. When women work, they need the money as much as they need the work. It's not disposable. It's indispensable. Another Liberal woman tells me she offered to help with the review of the Liberal Party after the election loss in 2022. Hilariously, she tells me that when she called to throw herself into the mix for membership of the review, she explained she had insight into why the teals were stealing Liberal seats. "Let's face it, most of my friends are teal voters and I'm somewhat partial to them myself," she laughs. But the bloke she talked to basically dismissed her. He said to her: "If you have any feedback, send an email to the Vic state director." "I couldn't even reply, I was so pissed off at being dismissed and yet again not seriously considered." Let me take you back to 2021. It was already clear then, a year out from the 2022 federal election, that the Coalition was on the nose with women. Three separate polling organisations revealed a sharp shift of women away from the government: Essential, Resolve Monitor, NewsPoll. And why? For once, all women could agree. The way that former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, allegedly raped in Parliament House, was treated by those in the then Coalition government was appalling. If this was how the government treated one of its own, how would it treat others? As former Liberal MP Julia Banks, in her tell-some memoir Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and Boys' Clubs, put it, "The painful experience for this woman was compounded by the Morrison government's incompetence, mismanagement and lack of accountability and humanity." Higgins, miraculously, has survived that mayhem and has now landed a gig with the lovely Hannah Moreno at Third Hemisphere. But not everyone survives. Higgins barely did. But the Liberals did not survive their rejection by women, not in 2022 and not in 2025. And they won't recover if they don't change. READ MORE: Which, sure, I am chill about. Who wants a party which says we can't work from home? Who wants a party which says nuclear power is the way forward? Hey babes, by the time you get back into power, in say, 2040, the renewables war will have been won. Please put your reactors back in your pants. My advice to you is this. You can't wait for the Stockdales and the Alstons to die. Blokes with plenty of money can afford the kind of healthcare which will keep them alive and kicking for years ahead. But the problem is they are not capable of changing. In the meantime, the Liberal Party itself may die. Want it to change? Sign yourselves up to Hilma's Network. Its founder, Charlotte Mortlock, launched a petition calling on the party to establish gender quotas. And push for them. That's what helped the Labor Party change. If the Liberals ever want to be in power again, they need to change too.
The Age
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Assertive women should join the Liberals: Sussan Ley slams reverse quota suggestion
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has shot down comments by former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale, who claimed that Liberal women were 'sufficiently assertive' that the party might need to consider reverse quotas for men. Stockdale made the extraordinary comment on a Zoom call to the NSW Liberal Women's Council on Tuesday night, which was set up to plead the case for the federal intervention of the troubled state division to be extended. He later issued a statement apologising and insisting he made the comment in jest, but his description of women in the Liberals has been widely condemned, including by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie and Deputy Liberal Leader Ted O'Brien. Former leader Peter Dutton last year appointed Stockdale, former Victorian senator Richard Alston and one-time NSW MP Peta Seaton as administrators to run the NSW division after its spectacular failure to nominate 144 candidates for the local government elections. However, there is deep division within the party over whether their term should end on June 30, as planned, or be extended. The federal executive of the party will consider the extension of the trio's term at a meeting on June 17. Ley, whose leadership rival Angus Taylor is one of the key backers of the right-wing-led administration, slammed Stockdale's comments. 'There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman, in fact, I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party,' Ley said in a statement. '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.'
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Assertive women should join the Liberals: Sussan Ley slams reverse quota suggestion
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has shot down comments by former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale, who claimed that Liberal women were 'sufficiently assertive' that the party might need to consider reverse quotas for men. Stockdale made the extraordinary comment on a Zoom call to the NSW Liberal Women's Council on Tuesday night, which was set up to plead the case for the federal intervention of the troubled state division to be extended. He later issued a statement apologising and insisting he made the comment in jest, but his description of women in the Liberals has been widely condemned, including by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie and Deputy Liberal Leader Ted O'Brien. Former leader Peter Dutton last year appointed Stockdale, former Victorian senator Richard Alston and one-time NSW MP Peta Seaton as administrators to run the NSW division after its spectacular failure to nominate 144 candidates for the local government elections. However, there is deep division within the party over whether their term should end on June 30, as planned, or be extended. The federal executive of the party will consider the extension of the trio's term at a meeting on June 17. Ley, whose leadership rival Angus Taylor is one of the key backers of the right-wing-led administration, slammed Stockdale's comments. 'There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman, in fact, I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party,' Ley said in a statement. '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.'
AU Financial Review
6 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Ley rebukes ex-president's comment on ‘assertive' women in Lib ranks
Former federal Liberal Party president Alan Stockdale told a meeting of female members in NSW that women were 'assertive' and suggested male members may need to be protected. Stockdale, a member of a three-person federal panel appointed to run the NSW Liberal Party, said the remark – made to a meeting of the NSW Liberal Women's Council on Tuesday evening – was a joke and expressed regret that 'people felt disrespected'. But it drew a rebuke from federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, the first female leader of the parliamentary party, who issued a statement shortly after Stockdale's comments were reported. 'There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman, in fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party,' the statement said. '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, a former treasurer of Victoria, along with the two other members of the administrative committee, Victorian Richard Alston and Peta Seaton from NSW attended the women's council meeting to discuss consultation on a new constitution for NSW which they hope will reverse the party's membership decline. The trio, appointed in September after the NSW party's failure to nominate dozens of candidates for local council elections, wants to stay on beyond the June 30 expiry date of the federal takeover of the party to change the constitution. On Tuesday evening at women's council the admin committee faced a barrage of questions, including one on the importance of women's representation in the party and quotas, multiple attendees told The Australian Financial Review. Four sources, granted anonymity due to the party's ban on discussing internal matters, confirmed that Stockdale responded by labelling women 'assertive'. 'Alan Stockdale suggested that women of the party were getting a little bit too assertive, and he was worried we might get into the position that we need reverse quotas,' said one attendee, who took a contemporaneous note of the remark. 'If it was a joke then he misread the room – the response was disbelief.' A second Liberal source who took a contemporaneous note said Stockdale replied: 'I think women are sufficiently assertive now that we should be giving some thought to whether we need to protect men's involvement.'
The Age
6 days ago
- General
- The Age
How to annoy Liberal women. Tell them they are ‘sufficiently assertive'
With the Liberal Party's founding father looming over their shoulder – quite literally – two octogenarian men from Victoria thought it wise to lecture women on the future of the NSW party. Women are now 'sufficiently assertive' in the Liberal Party, ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale bemoaned, that it is probably time to start giving blokes a leg up. Stockdale and former Victorian senator Richard Alston, combined age 164, positioned themselves under a portrait of Robert Menzies as they fronted the NSW Liberal Women's Council on Tuesday night to argue why they should continue to run the troubled division. The sole female and NSW representative on the federal takeover committee, appointed by former leader Peter Dutton, is Peta Seaton, who was seemingly the third wheel as Stockdale held court, reminding the NSW Liberals exactly why they still have a women's problem. 'Women are sufficiently assertive now,' Stockdale told the virtual meeting of at least 50 women, 'that we should be giving some thought to whether we need to protect men's involvement'. Great idea. Reverse quotas for men. If it were not so ludicrous and offensive, it would be comical. A brief look back to why Stockdale and Co are running NSW. Dutton imposed a federal takeover on the NSW Liberals after the embarrassing debacle of the party failing to nominate 144 candidates for last year's local government elections. The trio (which was initially going to be all men until wiser heads prevailed) was sent in to clean up the mess and help NSW secure an election win for the Liberals. They have failed to do either. Now the administrators are arguing for an extension of their term, which was due to expire on June 30. After his comment, which followed discussion over whether he would commit to quotas to get more Liberal women preselected, Stockdale chuckled, according to several women who were on the call. But if it was meant as a joke, Stockdale did not read the room. These women were already angry. Now they are positively apoplectic. Charlotte Mortlock, a former journalist and Liberal staffer who founded Hilma's Network, which supports women for Liberal preselection, last month launched a petition calling on the party to establish gender quotas. 'Women in the party and across the country more broadly have been demanding the Liberal Party improves its female representation for decades,' Mortlock wrote. 'We have failed to act.' As of Wednesday, the petition had 449 signatures.
