6/5/2025 | Politics | AU
The Liberal Party of Australia has long prided itself on being a champion of individual merit, resisting affirmative action policies like gender quotas. But recent comments from Alan Stockdale, a senior party figure, have laid bare the hypocrisy and tone-deafness that plague the party’s approach to gender equity. At a meeting of the NSW Liberal Women’s Council, Stockdale joked that women were already "sufficiently assertive" and that the party might need to "protect men’s involvement." The backlash was swift—and deservedly so.
The emotional trigger here is clear: women are tired of being patronized, sidelined, and treated as an afterthought in a party that claims to represent their interests. Stockdale’s remarks aren’t just cringeworthy; they’re symptomatic of a deeper rot. The Liberal Party has hemorrhaged support among women voters, as evidenced by the recent federal election where independent female candidates swept traditionally safe Liberal seats. Five of the six victorious crossbenchers in NSW were women, a devastating rebuke of the party’s outdated mindset.
The human impact extends beyond politics. Families, young professionals, and workers—particularly women—see in the Liberals a party that doesn’t value their voices. When figures like Stockdale dismiss systemic inequality as a joke, they alienate not just potential candidates but entire voting blocs. Former Liberal adviser Charlotte Mortlock put it aptly when she warned that the party is now beholden to "a smaller and smaller cohort of angry men, blinded by their own ideology."
This isn’t just about hurt feelings; it’s about electoral survival. The Liberals managed to win just six out of 46 federal seats in NSW last month—a historic humiliation. And yet, the party’s leadership continues to dither on meaningful reform. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, herself one of only two Liberal women elected in NSW, condemned Stockdale’s remarks—but condemnation alone won’t fix the problem. Without structural change, including quotas or other affirmative measures, the Liberals risk becoming irrelevant.
The parallels with historical missteps are striking. In 2019, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s infamous "quiet Australians" rhetoric alienated women furious over his government’s inaction on gender-based violence and workplace discrimination. Fast-forward to today, and the same patterns repeat—only now, the electoral consequences are even more severe. The rise of grassroots movements like ‘Voices For’ and Climate 200 has shown that voters, particularly women, are no longer willing to tolerate exclusionary politics.
Meanwhile, the Bradfield recount debacle serves as yet another blow. Gisele Kapterian, a promising young Liberal who initially won by a razor-thin margin, lost after a recount to independent Nicolette Boele. Kapterian represents the kind of candidate the party desperately needs—modern, multicultural, and accomplished—yet the odds remain stacked against her and others like her. If the Liberals truly want to rebuild, they must stop relegating women to junior roles and start empowering them at every level.
The party’s resistance to gender quotas is particularly galling given their own dismal track record. Only 29% of federal Liberal MPs are women, compared to Labor’s 50%. When conservatives argue that merit alone should dictate representation, they ignore the institutional barriers that keep women out. The data is clear: parties without quotas progress at a glacial pace, if at all.
What makes this moment so critical is its intersection with broader societal trends. The 2020s have seen seismic shifts in how institutions address gender, race, and power. Companies are adopting diversity targets, universities are reckoning with harassment scandals, and governments are enacting policies to close wage gaps. The Liberal Party’s refusal to evolve isn’t just politically foolish—it’s morally indefensible.
The solution isn’t complicated. The party must implement quotas, dismantle boys’ club networks, and elevate women into leadership roles—not as tokens, but as equals. If not, they will continue losing to independents and Labor, who have grasped what the Liberals stubbornly ignore: equality isn’t a buzzword; it’s a necessity.
Australia deserves better than a party stuck in the past. The choice is simple: reform or fade into oblivion.
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By George Oxley, this article was inspired by this source.