Former Prime Minister, John Howard, who George Brandis called a ‘lying rodent’1, launched his new book on Friday. At the launch he said that he did not believe in quotas for female representation in parliament, but “would like to see more women in the House of Representatives on his side of politics”. Showing a complete lack of awareness, or indeed an understanding of irony, this book launch was at Brisbane’s Tattersall’s Club which does not allow women to be members2. Yes, seriously! Even funnier was that the Queensland Liberal National Party hosted its 2015 International Women’s Day lunch at the same club. Furthermore, the Premier and Deputy Premier of Queensland have traditionally been invited to be members, but of course, now that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deputy Premier Jackie Trad are of the wrong gender, that has not happened2. This stuff is worthy of a Monty Python sketch.
This is the modern Liberal Party. And they wonder why they have a ‘women problem’3. The Liberal party don’t and won’t have a quota for women, but they seem to have one for the intellectually challenged4. The only people who feel threatened by quotas for women are mediocre men and the Liberal Party is replete with them.
Sources
- http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2004/s1189251.htm
- https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/john-howard-wants-more-female-liberals-calls-quotas-patronising-20180921-p5059x.html?platform=hootsuite
- https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/former-premier-ted-baillieu-slams-liberal-party-over-problem-with-women-20180829-p500jk.html
- http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/is-craig-kelly-the-dumbest-parliamentarian/
Farce is an understatement. Hopefully they’ll be sent to political oblivion for a decade or more after the next election.
KM,
Fingers crossed!
Mediocre men perfectly describes these LNP dinosaurs.
Ellie,
I was being polite!