Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. I refer to the member for Chisholm, Julia Banks, who said yesterday:

Only gender quotas will work in politics, not targets, because you cannot tie political office to salary or incentives as you can in business.

Does the Prime Minister agree?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, we don't agree with quotas and we do agree with targets. In the Liberal and National parties we are actually making significant progress—we're making very significant progress. Not only have we preselected Senator Linda Reynolds as No. 1 on the Senate ticket in the great state of Western Australia—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left. Senator McAllister! Senator Wong!

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not only have we preselected Senator Amanda Stoker, and not only have we reconfirmed Senator Jane Hume—we have preselected her and she is very secure.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong! Senator Keneally!

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And in Tasmania we have preselected the outstanding Claire Chandler in the No. 2 position and Hobart councillor Tanya Denison in the No. 3 position.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Wong!

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Georgina Downer was re-endorsed as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Mayo. Kate Ashmor was preselected as the Liberal candidate for the seat for Macnamara. Susan McDonald was preselected for the No. 2 position on the LNP Senate ticket in Queensland—thumbs up from Senator Canavan and Senator McKenzie. We also have Conargo businesswoman Perin Davey, who was preselected to lead the Nationals ticket in New South Wales. We are getting on with it. We are preselecting outstanding women right across Australia to represent the Liberal and National parties. That's what we're doing. We are working hard to make progress in improving our position, and, of course, we all acknowledge it needs improving.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Before I call Senator Collins, if I can't hear a voice like Senator Cormann's with ears like mine, there are a lot of people in this room who will not be able to hear anything! The noise is out of control. I remind senators of the need to let their colleagues hear both the questions and the answers. Senator Collins.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask a supplementary question. I again refer to Ms Banks, who said yesterday:

Quotas are not demeaning to women and nor will women will regarded as a 'quota girl'.

Senator Abetz has consistently labelled female members and senators 'quota girls', indeed since 2005—

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're not allowed to use that.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am going interrupt questions if I can't hear them. There were interjections from both sides of the chamber then.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the Prime Minister agree with Ms Banks or with Senator Abetz?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have indicated, we well understand that we need to do better in preselecting more outstanding women right around Australia. That's precisely what we're doing. I haven't even been able to go through the whole list. We have also preselected Alice Springs councillor Jacinta Price and former Northern Territory deputy coroner Kathy Ganley as the Country Liberal Party candidates for the seats of Lingiari and Solomon respectively.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, on a point of order.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is on direct relevance. The question was: does the Prime Minister agree with Ms Banks, who doesn't believe women will be quota girls, or does he agree with Senator Abetz, who has described women as quota girls?

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I believe the minister is being directly relevant to the majority of the question that I managed to hear from this chair during interjections on both sides of the chamber.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have said, I have already dealt with the question of quotas in the first answer, and I think my answer was very clear.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll assist the minister with a final supplementary question. With Liberal colleagues like Senator Abetz, who has consistently labelled female members and senators 'quota girls' since 2005—he is on record—is it any wonder Liberal members and senators feel unable to publicly name bullying and intimidation within the Liberal Party?

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Macdonald, on a point of order.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is on language. Yesterday the Deputy President ruled that the words 'quota girls' were not appropriate for this chamber. Senator Collins has mentioned quota girls three or four times in her question, and I wonder if the term 'quota girls' is unparliamentary.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not familiar with that. I'll review the Hansard and report on Monday.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have indicated, we don't support quotas; we do support targets and we do support efforts to do much better. Indeed, if you look at what is happening right around Australia, you can see that outstanding women are being preselected as candidates for the Liberal and National parties to represent us in House of Representatives electorates and in the Senate. I commend all of them to the Australian people, who should support them at the next election.