Latest news with #AngusTaylor
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Coalition happy to have quotas for Nationals on frontbench but not for female Liberal MPs, Tanya Plibersek says
The Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek has rubbished Liberal party objections to quotas to boost female representation in frontline politics, while dismissing claims longstanding Labor rules subvert democracy. As a series of reviews into the Coalition's emphatic 3 May election loss get under way, the shadow defence minister, Angus Taylor, has opposed a push for changes to preselection rules to promote Liberal women into winnable seats. Taylor, a leader in the conservative wing of the party's New South Wales branch, said gender quotas 'subvert democratic processes' and that mentoring, recruitment and support of women were better strategies to achieve increased female representation. Plibersek told ABC TV the justification was wrong, noting Labor had passed gender parity using quotas, while the female MPs made up less than a third of Liberal parliamentary ranks. 'They've got a quota of National party MPs that have to be on the frontbench,' she said. 'So they're happy to have quotas for National party MPs. It's just quotas for women that they're not prepared to use. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'Does Angus Taylor really want people to believe that the 28 most talented Liberals in the whole country are the people who've made it into the federal parliament?' Plibersek noted that the Liberals had ignored a non-binding 50% target for female representation put in place after the 2022 election. Labor introduced binding gender quotas in 1994 and has used the intervening decades to toughen its rules. The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, last week used a speech to the National Press Club to pledge to recruit more women to the Liberal party, saying she would be a 'zealot' for that objective. But Ley, the first woman to lead the Liberals, said she was personally agnostic about whether quotas were needed, insisting management of preselection processes was the responsibility of state divisions. 'Our party must preselect more women in winnable seats so that we see more Liberal women in federal parliament,' she said. 'Current approaches have clearly not worked, so I am open to any approach that will.' On Sunday Taylor said he and Ley agreed the Liberal party needed more female MPs and female members. 'The key thing that we all absolutely agree on here is we have to mobilise a grassroots movement across our side of politics for the things we believe in,' he told Sky News. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'That means having people who are representative of their communities, representative of the community here in Australia and we need to find every possible way to do that.' Taylor called for a sensible debate about recruiting women to parliament and to the Liberal party's membership more broadly. 'I've never been a believer in quotas to achieve that but its clear we have to take proactive action to achieve that.' A formal review into the Coalition's loss is being led by the Howard government minister Nick Minchin and the former NSW state minister Pru Goward. The Queensland Liberal National party senator James McGrath is expected to run a separate review into the party's structure. The opposition frontbencher Julian Leeser has called for consideration of preselection primary contests instead of quotas, while high-profile Liberals including the former minister Simon Birmingham and the NSW senator Maria Kovacic have called for mandated quota systems to prevent another drubbing by Labor. The NSW Liberal Women's Council will debate gender quotas at a meeting in Sydney this week. The party has designated places in its federal council for the chair of the federal women's council, as well as other groups including the Young Liberals.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Capability to dictate Australian defence spending
Lifting the federal defence budget will be based on what Australia's military can achieve, rather an arbitrary dollar figure, a senior minister says. Pressure has mounted on the Albanese government to lift defence spending, after NATO allies agreed to boost theirs to five per cent of GDP. While Australia has pledged to increase its spend to 2.3 per cent by 2033/34, the US has called for a rise to 3.5 per cent. But Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia was already lifting its spending on the military, which would also centre on the ability of the armed forces to protect the country. "We start with the capability, we don't start with the dollars, and that's how we work with every financial decision that the government makes," Mr Burke told Sky News on Sunday. "With those capability decisions, we are already spending more than was spent before we came to office." Despite the push from the US, Mr Burke said Australia's relationship with America was not at risk. "The relationship with the United States is really important," he said. "We have mature, decent, respectful conversations with the United States, but as I say, the conversation doesn't start with the dollars at our end." Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said the instability seen around the world reinforced the need for countries like Australia to spend more on defence. "We are seeing authoritarian regimes across the globe flexing their muscles, and open, democratic societies like ours need to stand up for what we believe in, and need to make sure we achieve peace through deterrence," he told Sky News. "There's a range of things that are very clear that we need to spend on ... and there's a whole series of areas which we're seeing are underfunded right now." Before the federal election, the opposition had pledged to increase the defence budget to three per cent of GDP. However, there was uncertainty about where the extra money would come from. Mr Taylor said the budget for the military should be increased, regardless if there was pressure from the US. "If a government is not in a position to keep its people safe, then it has failed as a government," he said. "This is a disaster for Australians and for Australia, we need to get serious about it, and I'm going to continue to hold the government to account on this, because this is a failure from our government."
Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Disaster for Australia': Labor called out over its ‘failure' on defence
Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor claims Labor is 'failing' Australia on defence as it resists America's push to lift the country's defence spending. 'We are not in the position we need to be with our Australian Defence Force, that Labor is failing us, and it is clear from Albanese's comments, he has absolutely no intention of changing this,' he told Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell. 'This is a disaster for Australians and for Australia. We need to get serious about it.'
The Age
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
The Liberal Party's woman problem
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. FEDERAL OPPOSITION Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley fronted the Press Club this week and gave a voluble speech about her plans to investigate the failures of the Liberal Party. She declared herself open to whatever means necessary to rescue it, including the possibility of introducing quotas to raise the representation of women in the party. Yesterday morning, Angus Taylor was on the media circuit pushing his belief that quotas are anti-democratic and should not be used by his party. Angus Taylor is the shadow defence minister and is not in a position to dictate party policy. A statement such as 'we have a new leader and I will support her in her efforts to rebuild the party' would have been far more appropriate. It's no wonder women watch this type of thing play out and have no interest in being involved. Jan Downing, Hawthorn East Angus Taylor is out of time So, Angus Taylor rejects the notion of quotas for Liberal women and also thinks that we should follow the directive from Donald Trump and spend more on defence. Didn't Taylor take note of the results at the last election? The Liberal Party and its putative values are just not chiming with the majority of Australians. The country has moved on from the Howard era, and Angus Taylor should too. Alan Whittaker, East Kew Dinosaurs doom party to irrelevance Angus Taylor believes that pre-selection quotas to attract and endorse more women for the federal Liberal Party will 'subvert the democratic process' that he assures us he holds dear. It is undeniable that the Liberal Party numbers in federal parliament do not represent the gender make-up of our national population. Equally, the Liberals seem relatively unconcerned with this situation and do not perceive any urgency to address the imbalance despite their regular 'reviews' and 'post-election analyses'. The continued lack of a proven strategy (together with effective policies) to demonstrate that the party is in-touch with the electorate is a guarantee of ongoing irrelevance. The Liberal Party woes are not assisted by 'dinosaurs' like Angus Taylor and others. Mark Bennett, Manifold Heights Not now, not ever In responding to Tony Abbott's opposition to gender quotas, (26/6), Sussan Ley could well adapt Julia Gillard's famous mysogyny speech: 'I say to the former prime minister, I will not be lectured about gender quotas by this man. I will not. Not now, not ever'. Harry Zable, Campbells Creek THE FORUM Political extremes Re Gabriel Shipton's article ″What happened to my brother, Julian Assange, once felt extraordinary. Today it feels like the norm″ (27/6). Assange helped make Donald Trump, a man who has not the slightest interest in accountability, president of the US because of Assange's selective leaks during the 2016 election campaign. Now, his brother is whinging about Trump assaulting the free press. This is a perfect example of the hypocrisy and interconnectedness of both political extremes. Brett Byrne, Melbourne Silence not an option Gabriel Shipton's piece is a warning that should be heeded by all. Being punished for telling the truth or exposing crimes – whether a Palestinian journalist or an Australian white collar worker – is not something that happens in a democratic and humane society. Our silence is not an option, or we will be silenced permanently. Anastasios Moralis, Ormond
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ley's party numbers do not inspire confidence
We'll see how Sussan Ley goes over time trying to fix the paucity of women serving in, or even voting for, her party (' Are we ready for another female PM? ' , June 27). But I can't help remembering she won the Liberal leadership by just four votes, one of which (it turns out) shouldn't have been there, two more won't be there after June 30 and the fourth was (presumably) her own. Maybe she's since won over quite a few who voted for Angus Taylor. I hope so. But she's got a big job keeping whatever parliamentary backing she now has while lifting overall voter support far above its current pathetic level. If our democracy is to avoid the tarnish that afflicts the systems operating in places such as the US and Israel, a solid alternative is a must to give voters a viable option. And if she can achieve that at least, she will have done well. Adrian Connelly, Springwood The question should be: Is the Liberal Party ready to give female Opposition Leader Sussan Ley the chance to lead the party into the election? Voters are always ready, if you go by history. Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka) was the world's first female prime minister in 1960, after her husband was assassinated; Indira Gandhi in India in 1966; then Golda Meir in Israel in 1969 and so on. Ley is also vague when asked about the quota for female representation: yes, but she says all Liberal states have their own democratic way of electing candidates. It is a code word for saying that she doesn't want to take on the Liberal 'heavyweights'. It'd be interesting to see if Liberals are ready to change. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill One thing Sussan Ley can be certain of is that, from the current government, she will never have to face the disgusting and obscene treatment Julia Gillard was subjected to by the Abbott government and certain members of the media. Johanna White, Woonona Quotas? Our first female PM's take on being the first female PM: 'It doesn't explain everything. It doesn't explain nothing. It explains something.' It might be easier for the next female Labor PM, but until the misogyny and the old men are retired from the Liberal Party, quotas might be its only hope. Geoff Nilon, Mascot Australians don't care whether their prime minister is a male or a female. They just want a conviction politician. Someone who sticks to their principles rather chasing popularity. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach Are we ready? Yes, but not Sussan Ley. Peter Miniutti, Ashbury Where is Angus, your correspondent asks? (Letters, June 27). In the backroom counting numbers. Margaret Jones, Bathurst Thatcher? No, thanks Your correspondent (Letters, June 27) says, admiringly, Sussan Ley 'appears to be our Thatcher down under'. It was Margaret Thatcher, remember, who said, 'There is no such thing as society', in one of the most blatant victim-blaming comments ever made (read her whole patronising statement about over-dependence on government support for the needy). Do we really want Sussan Ley to follow the ultra-conservative Thatcher example? I thought we rejected any thought of that at the recent election? Eric Hunter, Cook (ACT) Abandoned in Syria Now that some sort of peace is happening and missiles are not flying overhead, perhaps Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke can do something about the Australian women and children in camps in Syria? Their 'guilt' is irrelevant and, as we have seen by those returned already, no harm is done by this action. Naturally, the opposition will be loud and obnoxious but it can be ignored. Just do the right thing, minister. Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights Spirit of Ukraine Thank you, Rob Harris, for such a powerful and heartfelt piece of reporting from Kyiv (' The extraordinary city that continues to defy Putin ', June 27) on the extraordinary spirit of the Ukrainian people. You have shared their history and experiences and their resilience. This reader is grateful for your insight, your courage and your focus on what really matters in a painfully broken world. Deb McPherson, Gerringong Rob Harris says that while the Russia-Ukraine war may appear to be just over land, critically it is also about 'identity, memory and truth', and this accounts for why the Ukrainian people will not give in. Harris, in stressing that land, culture and memories intertwine to form the essence of a people, has nailed why many wars are drawn out, even unwinnable by the aggressor in the long term. Past wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan come to mind. To choose war over diplomacy is irrational short-sightedness. To choose an unwinnable war is even more so. Paul Casey, Callala Bay In defence of truth What Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton learned in the fight for Julian's freedom (' My brother, the truth and the rising ', June 27) has led him to now establish The Information Rights Project to try to protect journalists and others being attacked for telling the truth. That has grown massively with the arrival of Trumpism, the deaths of 185 journalists in Gaza and Donald Trump's attacks on journalists in the US. We, shamefully, don't protect our whistleblowers, some of whom are now in jail. Shipton has taken on a big task. He says that if truth loses, democracy loses, and we can't rely on governments alone to fight this fight. Gary Barnes, Mosman Failing federalism When the federal government introduced the fecal occult blood screening program in 2006, the surge in need for colonoscopy was quantifiable. For those with a positive test who could not afford the out-of-pocket costs for an immediate private colonoscopy, the burden fell on the state-run, already underfunded public hospitals, the need greatest in the poorest areas. Some hospital managers were more able to support their clinicians than others but the problem persists beyond western Sydney ('Hospital boss departs after diagnosis delays revealed,' June 27). The commonwealth funded the screening test and it part funded private colonoscopies but it washed its hands of those unable to pay. It is yet another example of inequity of access to essential care due to the split jurisdiction in health between state and commonwealth. It is federalism at its worst. Maybe dividing authority over health services made sense in 1901; it is certainly no longer fit for purpose. In 2009, the Rudd-appointed National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission laid down a transitional process to a single funder, starting with the commonwealth taking over all hospital out-patient costs, which would have included gap-free consultation and colonoscopy by a gastroenterologist. Unconscionable colonoscopy delay is a symptom of a sick system and a lack of political will to treat it. Graeme Stewart, Avalon Beach Platitudes rather than action do nothing for the environment We could probably write now the ministerial statement (' Scathing report on dire state of nature ', June 27) to accompany the next State of the Environment report due in three years' time. More hand-wringing. More statements about how turning environmental decline around takes time. More platitudes. More ineffectual action. Wouldn't it be nice if our decision-makers stopped listening to lobbyists and started listening to the environment? We need our so-called leaders to explain why business as usual cannot be an option and enthuse us all on how good life could be for all species that inhabit this planet. Experience tells us, though, that this is extraordinarily unlikely. Greg Baker, Fitzroy Falls According to the State of the Environment report, there has been a devastating decline in NSW's ecosystems since 2021; a further 18 species of both plants and animals are now endangered, and land clearing continues unabated. The 2021 report coincided with a Herald editorial calling for a 'Big Australia', which declared there was 'nothing to fear' from high immigration. The editorial made no mention of climate change or the environment. Australia has added nearly 2 million people since 2021 and the world is on track to add 2 billion people by 2025, according to the UN. 'Immigration causes no net change in people flows' is the specious 'Big Australia' argument, showing either a catastrophic misunderstanding of a hugely complex problem, or more likely, a deliberate deception. Meanwhile, our pursuit of net zero is increasingly absurd. To stop climate change, net zero must be achieved across the world. Instead, Australia is busy flogging fossil fuels, trashing the net zero aspirations of other countries while pretending our achieving net zero occurs in a vacuum, just like our immigration intake. Net zero has become a Labor Party front for business as usual, ie: never-ending growth. It is sending our pollution offshore, driving up the world's population powered with fossil fuels, all while pretending to be cleanskins at home. Paul Davies, Crows Nest Save the Powerhouse It is too late for Powerhouse Parramatta, and it is probably also too late for this Labor government to revisit Powerhouse Ultimo (' ALP's $300m Powerhouse revamp hit at last minute ', June 27). Millions are still to be spent on the unnecessary so-called revitalisation. The Powerhouse Museum only needed some TLC, not the wipeout of its charter. Garry Horvai, Pennant Hills I wish the last-minute revamp of the Ultimo Powerhouse had been hit a lot harder. It appears that even more destruction of the award-winning Wran extension is planned. Experts, including the late Powerhouse architect, Lionel Glendenning, have proposed that repair and maintenance costs, retaining the existing structure and internal layout (included in the commendations of those bestowing the architectural award) can be carried out at a fraction of the $300m+ proposed expenditure. How about re-allocating this money to schools infrastructure and hospitals? Elizabeth Elenius, Pyrmont Trains going backwards The Herald's nostalgic goodbye to our 'V-set' interurban trains (' Era closes as workhorse of train trips makes final Newcastle run ', June 27) forgets to reveal that the new Mariyung trains do not have reversible seats, enabling those passengers who choose to, to face the direction of travel. Backward-facing seats were so unpopular on other previously introduced trains in NSW that the seats were soon replaced with reversible seating. Nat Buckley, Drummoyne Utes are brutes I disagree with the suggestion from your correspondent (Letters, June 27) that the middle class is doing its best to keep the planet habitable for everyone. The number of dual-cab utes one sees daily, crawling along in Greater Sydney's traffic snarls, unburdened by any tools of trade, suggests that many in the middle class have scant regard for their impact on the environment. Glenn Johnson, Leura Cherry on top I say yes to the new road rules but not all drivers are beyond the pale (Letters, June 27). May I acknowledge the Cherrybrook drivers? I use a mobility scooter and our drivers are polite when they see me approaching a road crossing. Once I dropped a parcel and the adjacent car stopped, the driver came over and retrieved the parcel. You are a model for the nation. Just don't ask me about pedestrians on mobile phones. John Crowe, Cherrybrook Could the Minns government please provide NSW Police with sufficient highway patrol cars and personnel to help control tailgating by trucks? Regardless of whether you're travelling at the speed limit, some drivers of these monster machines seem to think it's acceptable to be only two or three metres behind you. On rural roads where the likelihood of having to brake for a kangaroo, wombat or some inanimate obstacle is high, the momentum of these machines means the car and driver become the roadkill. The aggressive cowboys who behave like this give the entire trucking industry a bad name. Peter Thompson, Grenfell I'd happily pay a road user charge instead of fuel tax because here in the Central West, my time is often spent on goat tracks rather than roads. I'd save a fortune. Rurik MacKenzie, Summer Hill Creek Bezos begone Low society (' Bezos' brazen behaviour part of the tech bro vibe ', June 27). Phil Rodwell, Redfern I don't believe I've seen a more disgusting show of wealth than the Bezos wedding in Venice. Imagine how that amount could help unfortunate people. Zuzu Burford, Heathcote Postscript This week started quietly on the letters page. Some gentle discussion about the approaching state budget, some well-meaning advice for federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers about tax reform, discussion about whether dog cafes are a sign of the decay of civilisation or the impending apocalypse (probably the decay) and, on a lighter note, a letter from a reader sick of humans who wants to transition to being an emu. Then, of course, Trump happened, as he so often does these days, bombing Iran and setting the world to sixes and sevens again. This did not endear POTUS to the majority of writers. Some writers, yes, thought the bombing could, possibly, be a good thing, mainly because the Iranian government is not one that the world wants to be equipped with nuclear weapons. Most writers, however, thought it was Trump throwing a tantie because his big, beautiful army parade had been ridiculed and hardly anyone had turned up anyway. So he now wanted revenge by bombing a country that wasn't going to bomb back. Then came Trump's ceasefire, which had most writers hopeful for peace. It didn't matter who thought of it or announced it – people not shooting at each other, or dropping bombs on each other, was decided to be a good thing, no matter if the action was internationally legal or not. However, Trump's mooted big, beautiful plan to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was resoundingly disparaged. Towards the end of the week, though, pausing only to reprimand the Netherlands' royal family for giving bed and breakfast to the Trumps, writers had moved on to giving advice to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Writers are over the Liberal Party harrumphing about the election and squabbling about quotas, and are dubious about internal enquiries (seen it all before). They are giving Ley the benefit of the doubt now because she's new, but they want to see some positive action soon. Sad news at the end of the week was the death, at 85 after a battle with Parkinson's disease, of long-time correspondent Joan Brown of Orange. She wrote over 500 letters and was last published on May 24.
