Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stewart for that question too because it is important. Having gone from serving in a government where I was the only member in the cabinet to serving in a cabinet now with record numbers of women, and serving in a caucus where more women than men are members of that caucus for the first time in Australian political history, I am very proud. It does make a difference.

Thirty years ago the Labor Party set affirmative action targets. Now the government that has 52 per cent women is 100 per cent supportive of making women's lives better and pursuing gender equality. Look over this side and then look over that side. I've got a message for the Liberal Party—the coalition. You know your big problem? Your big problem, as you drive gender equality, is that you keep preselecting men. That's the problem. It's really easy. You've just got to stop preselecting as many men and preselect a few more women. Then you might get more women in your caucus. (Time expired)