Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton again sought to rebuild his public image, saying a controversial joke he made in 2015 about climate change in the Pacific was in “bad taste”.
key points:
- Peter Dutton says he is “human and vulnerable” like anyone else
- Susan Lay says she wants to have an “honest conversation” about why women turned away from the Liberal Party.
- A Liberal senator has called for an overhaul of the pre-selection process in New South Wales
Mr Dutton was immigration minister when he was caught on an open microphone joking about the “lack of water” in 2015 [the] The “gate” of the Pacific island nations.
It is a remark that is still used by Labor to accuse the coalition of damaging ties in the region, an issue that became an election campaign issue after the security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands became official. Gone.
The newly elected Liberal leader apologized for the remarks in 2015 and reiterated today that he regretted doing so.
“I’ve made some bad-tasting jokes like anyone over the years, and I apologize for that,” he said.
“I am as human and as weak as anyone else.”
For the past week, Mr Dutton has been trying to rebuild his image, urging people to reserve their judgment about him until they see his “perfect character”.
He reiterated his argument that the positions he has held in the past – such as defence, home affairs and immigration – have not allowed him to show his full self and that there were roles that were difficult to “crack a smile or a joke”. made.
Women didn’t listen to Liberal Party, says Le
Mr Dutton’s newly-elected deputy, Susan Lay, said he planned to meet and talk to women in seats the Liberals had lost to him to hear what the party needed to do to win back its vote. the wanted.
Ms Lay has acknowledged that women turned away from the party during the election and said the new leadership was determined to win back their trust.
“I think the women didn’t listen much to what we were saying. They didn’t believe, perhaps, that we were focusing on them and their lives,” she said.
“But, again, many women really supported us and I’ve heard from many of those women.
“I’m not going to hold back from the fact that many women didn’t support us and I want to have an honest conversation and I don’t want to throw light on anything and I want to hear directly from women.”
Ms Lay said she would speak to the party’s New South Wales state division about the idea of quotas for women’s representation, but it was more important to her that there was a clear path for women to enter and lay their hands on politics. was.
They also indicated that the Coalition could be instrumental in implementing the recommendations of the [email protected] report and that making it an employer’s obligation to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, an “affirmative duty” was “deserving further consideration.”
Resolve to change the pre-election process
New South Wales Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has called for changes to pre-selection procedures following the party’s electoral defeat.
Pre-selection was delayed in the state after federal intervention, which installed candidates without a vote by rank-and-file members.
This included the controversial candidate for Warringah, Katherine Daves, who was chosen by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, among others.
In a letter to party members, Senator Bragg said the party was not a dictatorship and called for the federal leader’s influence over pre-election processes to be reduced.
“Your right to have your say and choose our candidates is the most important reason to become a member. Yet this precious right was snatched away because our Constitution was tampered with,” he wrote.
“We are determined to make sure this never happens again.”
The reforms listed include a clear timetable for selection that should be made publicly available.
To ensure that the party was competitive in the next election, the Liberal senator said those reforms were necessary.
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