PM promises to keep record number of women in Cabinet as Labor says there's a stampede of ministers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised to retain a record number of women in his cabinet if he wins the looming federal election, as his newest senior frontbencher says the Liberal Party from its branches to its leadership is changing its attitude to women.
WA senator Linda Reynolds, being sworn in as Defence Industry Minister, says the Liberal Party is improving its approach to women.He said bringing in Senator Reynolds, an Army brigadier who will be defence minister if the Coalition is re-elected, took to a record seven women in the Cabinet and that was the number he would seek to retain.
"I'd like to see it done a little faster, but if you have a look at the diversity, while we may have a smaller number of women, we have a fantastically diverse range of women in the Parliament and also now seeking to join us in the Parliament. Mr Morrison said he would like to see women preselected to replace Mr Ciobo, who holds the Queensland seat of Moncrieff with a margin of 15 per cent, and Mr Pyne, who was facing a battle to retain his South Australian electorate of Sturt after a redistribution reduced his margin to 5.4 per cent.
Neither Mr Ciobo nor Mr Pyne said they were leaving because of the prospect of defeat at the coming election, arguing they still expected Mr Morrison to be successful. Senator Wong also revealed Labor would look at all political appointments made by the Morrison government, including the decision announced on Saturday to make the head of the Sydney Business Chamber, Patricia Forsythe, the new high commissioner to New Zealand.
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