Sussan Ley has encouraged ‘assertive women’ to join the Liberal Party after a former party executive complained about female assertiveness.
The Opposition Leader condemned comments made by Former federal president Alan Stockdale, 80, who reportedly claimed women had become ‘so assertive’ the party might need to consider measures to support men.
‘The women in this party are so assertive now that we may needs some special rules for men to get them preselected,’ he told a meeting of the NSW Liberal Womens’ Council on Tuesday, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Ley said there was ‘nothing wrong with being an assertive woman’.
‘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,’ she said in a statement.
It came after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested the Liberal Party need to ‘have a good look at themselves and their structures’.
Mr Stockdale, who was Treasurer of Victoria in the government of Jeff Kennett, later told the Telegraph it was ‘a lighthearted but poorly chosen remark’.
But that didn’t stop senior Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and former Labor premier for Queensland Anna Palaszczuk from joining forces to condemn his remarks.
Former federal president Alan Stockdale, 80, reportedly claimed women had become ‘so assertive’ the party might need to consider support for men
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley (pictured) said there was ‘nothing wrong with being an assertive woman’.
‘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.’
Ms Palaszczuk said she could not 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.’
Senator McKenzie said she was on a ‘unity ticket’ with Ms Palaszczuk over Mr Stockdale’s remarks.
During the federal election campaign, the Liberal Party announced a policy requiring Commonwealth 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, helping Labor romp home to an electoral landslide.
Deputy Opposition leader Ted O’Brien also questioned Mr 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.’
