A new national women’s Liberal network has quietly launched to a small crowd at Parliament House this week, more than a year after it was recommended by a party review of the Liberals’ 2022 election loss.
Senator Jane Hume, who co-authored the review, launched the Dame Margaret Guilfoyle Network at Parliament House on Wednesday night.
Nearly 40 women attended the soft launch, including parliamentarians and staffers, after invitations were sent out a few days before.
The review by Senator Hume and political strategist Brian Loughnane recommended the establishment of the network, to bring more women into the Liberal Party branches and parliament.
It found the party’s vote was weakest among women between 18 and 34, and women aged 35 to 54 were the demographic most likely to shift away from the party.
The ABC had contacted each state executive to ask if the Dame Margaret Guilfoyle Network had been established.
Days later, the federal Liberal Party sent a response from the federal division on behalf of all the divisions. It said the network would be launched shortly.
Senator Jane Hume said the network looks to “unite and elevate Liberal women from all corners of Australia, creating a formidable strategic network of skills, experiences, and aspirations and opportunities”.
“It provides Liberal-minded women a place where they can both contribute to the political debate and benefit from association with others who are involved directly and indirectly,” the senator said in a statement.
“The network is intended to engage current and former female parliamentarians, staff, and members, with the aim of promoting greater female representation in parliament and the party.
“It will also provide opportunities and avenues for continued involvement for professional women associated with the party.”
Recommendations to hit 50 per cent female rep
The review also recommended the party adopt targets for 50 per cent female representation in parliament and 50 per cent female representation in Liberal branches and the executive within a decade.
The ABC also asked if another one of the election loss review recommendations, an update to the federal executive by June 2023 and every six months after about hitting those 50 per cent female targets, had been implemented.
“All divisions of the Liberal Party have reported and will continue to report to the federal executive on progress made towards meeting the party’s target of 50 per cent female representation within its parliamentary ranks,” the statement said.
“All divisions have also reported to federal executive on progress towards meeting the target of 50 per cent for female membership and female members in leadership roles within the organization.”
The ABC asked for a further breakdown of how the progress was being recorded but the federal executive did not provide any further information.
One of the recommendations from the review was to preselect female candidates in safe Liberal seats, however, some female Liberal Party hopefuls haven’t received enough votes from within local branches, including recently in former prime minister Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook.
Veteran affairs advocate and domestic violence survivor Gwen Cherne lost preselection to ex-McKinsey consultant Simon Kennedy.
“One of the reasons that perhaps there haven’t been more women being pre-selected is because they haven’t been engaged with the political process or haven’t seen the opportunities present themselves within the Liberal Party,” Senator Hume said.
“That’s what the network hopes to change, to encourage women to get involved with Liberal political ideas, and more importantly, see opportunities in advance and have a supportive network wrapped around them to encourage them to stand, should they choose to do so.”
Different ways for women to engage than running, Hume says
Senator Hume said there were different ways women could engage in politics, running for parliament being only one of them.
“The network hopes to encourage women not only to be supported in running for parliament but also organizational party positions and roles within the professional wing,” she said.
“It’s also about engaging those in business and professions with the political process and political issues that are relevant to them.”
Members of the Advisory Committee of the Margaret Guilfoyle Network, with Senator Hume as chair, include:
- Claire Chandler, Tasmanian senator
- Sascha Meldrum, ex-South Australian Liberal Party state director
- Caroline DiRusso, Western Australian Liberal Party president
- Karyn Sobels, Victorian businesswoman
- Helen Coonan, former communications minister, NSW senator
- Julia Dixon, newly re-elected Liberal Brisbane City councillor
- Rachel Thompson, Simon Birmingham’s long-time chief of staff
- Peta Credlin, political commentator and ex-prime ministerial chief of staff
Senator Hume has also engaged former California Republican Party chairman and ex-spokesman for Ted Cruz, Ron Nehring, to assist with the network.
There will be a subscription fee of $150 to join the network for non-party members and $100 for those already registered with the Liberals, on top of existing party membership fees.
The network will run alongside the already established Hilma’s Network, founded by Liberal staffer Charlotte Mortlock.
Hilma’s Network focuses on grassroots recruitment of women into the Liberal Party, at all levels.
Dame Margaret Guilfoyle, the namesake of the new network, was one of the first women to hold a federal cabinet position.