LIBERAL PARTY NEEDS "MENZIAN MANDATE" FOR WOMEN, SAYS FORMER ADVISOR

PR Council Founder Kristy McSweeney Calls for Party-Specific Quota System Amid Historic Leadership Change

Credit: PR council website

As Sussan Ley becomes the first female leader in Liberal Party history, former party advisor Kristy McSweeney argues the milestone appointment must be accompanied by structural reforms to address the party's declining female voter support.

Key Details

In an interview with ABC's Afternoon Briefing, McSweeney revealed that party founder Robert Menzies himself established the Liberal Party with mandated gender positions—a historical precedent that challenges contemporary resistance to quotas.

"Menzies actually established the Liberal Party of Australia with a vision to enshrine mandated gender spots for women in the administration of the Liberal Party," McSweeney explained. "Which meant at a time when women couldn't work when they were married or couldn't get a bank account or couldn't get a financial loan, they were able to hold senior positions in the Liberal Party."

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