Something strange has been happening in conservative politics. The Liberal Party is being told that the only way it can cling onto power (or win it back) is if the party panders to the demands of women.
Women are out. Women are the reason Morrison lost the election. Women are flocking to the left. Women are angry. Women have the hots for pandemic doctors. Women are going Teal. It’s a never-ending barrage of excuses moderates encourage because they think the ‘fix’ for power involves the easy adoption of female quotas. That’ll do it, right? Run a pair of high-heels against Zali and those affluent seats will roll back into the blue. Women vote for women! Parachute a few chicks in and continue on as before…
If the Liberals keep up with this sort of nonsense, they really will have a ‘women’ problem.
The narrative did not originate from the blue-ribbon base. It was started by a relentless Labor marketing campaign. The media quite liked throwing pink click-bait around and so it persisted, but there was never any detail behind the fiction.
Liberal leaders allowed the untrue accusation to sit unchallenged through several election cycles until it was ‘assumed’ as fact. Which is what happens to those who refuse to fight the culture wars.
Before his loss, dozens of publications insisted that Morrison had a ‘women problem’ but none could cite what that problem actually was. Toward the end of his time, Morrison foolishly accepted this empty hashtag and decided to drag it through the election on some misguided walk of atonement, forgetting that Wokeism isn’t a religion that offers forgiveness for past sins, real or imagined.
This ‘women problem’ culminated in ridiculous marches, cheered by the ABC and other hard-left personalities until nearly every think-tank and media outlet demanded the Liberals enforce gender quotas on the party. Are women so vacuous that how a party ‘looks’ has become more important than the skills of those elected?
If Morrison (and now Peter Dutton) had been slightly more observant, they might have noticed there were no conservative women marching in those #MeToo protests. No conservative women who thought there was a problem with women in Canberra. No conservative women shouting at the party to embarrass itself and pander to the Woke mob.
At the same time as this Morrison self-flagellation was taking place, more than one Labor leader – including the Premier of Victoria – was being accused by women from within their party of bullying, harassment, and unprofessional conduct. These accusations involved multiple official complaints and investigations in which women lost their jobs. Maybe Labor has a ‘women problem’?
Regardless, this obsession with counting the number of breasts inside a political party is embarrassingly backward thinking. Liberal women have performed better, reached positions of power sooner, and held high office more regularly than the Labor Party. Quality, not quantity, is how you inspire others. It would have been the work of a moment for a competent leader to brush off this petty nonsense put forward by the media.
Unfortunately, the Liberals really do have a ‘competency problem’. Some child within the party decided that the social media storm of #MeToo was more important that liberty, morality, and prosperity. The declaration of Liberal Party values are so alien to sitting MPs that it’s no wonder women view politicians as traitors to the conservative movement.
With women making up roughly 50 per cent of the voting population, they are a significant demographic worth listening to.
Last week, I sent out a question to subscribers of the nightly Flat White email asking conservative women: What do you want?
The first and almost universal reply from women was that they had never been asked.
If the Liberal Party are losing women, it might have something to do with a lack of communication – dare we say it – a ‘voice’. Liberal leaders are getting their information about the demands of female voters from the ABC and hard-left feminist social media accounts. Peter Dutton is as different from Adam Bandt as a conservative woman is from Lidia Thorpe.
What do conservative women want? Here is what they told The Spectator Australia.
A 39-year-old woman, centre-right, and a Christian expressed her disillusionment with all levels of the Liberal Party. Her disappointment is largely to do with their policies, in particular ‘their apparent lukewarmness and lack of a backbone on controversial issues’. She adds, ‘Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be much vision or inspiration. The only time I was inspired by a Liberal politician was when I watched an interview of Ryan Smith by Matt Wong on Discernable.’ Her conclusion was that the party should promote less spending, or at least spend money on things that make a difference to society; have a healthy promotion of national spirit; more focus on national security; education instead of indoctrination with a focus on teaching children the importance of democracy; championing free speech; making sure the ‘broad church’ doesn’t erode the party; and defending the freedom of religion. This conservative woman has lost faith in the education system to the point that she has looked into homeschooling.
Our next reply was from a young professional in her twenties expecting her first child later in the year. She has a degree in a STEM subject and has been working in economics. Her wishes for the party may surprise policy experts. The first thing that she wants is to see childcare subsidies stopped (or limited to those in critical need) as ‘there is no reason why everyone else should pay because you decided to have a child’ also, ‘there is no reason why parents who choose to stay at home and raise their own children should be forced to pay for other people’s kids to go to childcare’. She worries that parents should be encouraged to raise their children after noticing many seem to talk to their kids as if they were strangers. She writes, ‘I am worried about how I will be able to afford to offer my children the same privilege [of being raised at home] while having to compete against families who are essentially paid to go to work, on top of their salary.’ Her other concerns may resonate; stem the flow of immigration (‘the contradiction of preaching about climate change and Aboriginal land while cramming more people in’); give Australians a chance to afford a home; preserve what’s left of Australia’s culture; encourage assimilation; stop indulging in divisive ideology; and finally, no female quotas (‘I don’t care whether someone is male, female, or X – I care about how suited they are to the job’). She further points out that women who viciously climb the ladder often have entirely different values: ‘I am hardly going to be overjoyed by having such women represent me.’ Her last words should be heard: ‘Ultimately, the Liberal Party just seems like a sloppy imitation of Labor and certainly does not demonstrate a party that supports the family values that I strongly believe in.’
A conservative woman, a Christian, and a self-described ‘Elder in my Church’ of 74 living in Canberra (now that’s brave!) wrote about the constant threat of being persecuted for daring to express conservative values in public. ‘Even on our Nation’s Australia Day I had to choose very carefully the words I used when sending messages to family and friends.’ She adds that we are being ‘preached to’ about climate change – which should instead be a topic of discussion – and are having our history and culture cancelled. ‘What I want from politicians is that they step up and fight for what is fair, equitable, logical, realistic, and right. I want them to demonstrate integrity and consider everyone, not just the young, with all of this.’
Another woman added, ‘I expect political parties to be brave in condemning any and all Woke trash.’ Of particular concern is the Liberal Party’s apparent disinterest in protecting children from ‘gender-affirming’ indoctrination that confuses vulnerable kids. She also wishes the Liberals to stand up and put an end to divisive race politics and calls for a Royal Commission to track down the billions of dollars invested in Indigenous projects to make sure it is being used responsibly.
Another 74-year-old Christian conservative is concerned about the direction Australia is taking. She writes, ‘I admire Jacinta Price so much – what a gift to her people she is! We need more like her rather than the opposite, which only results in confusion, trouble, and no common good. We have seen that in New Zealand over many years.’ She also wishes for politicians to be more accountable and for apologies to mean something if they are made in earnest, rather than the endless witch-hunting that preoccupies the media. In addition, consumers need more protection and a stronger ACCC; politicians must address the Medicare crisis including the replacement of Australian doctors by cheap foreign labour; fix the Aged Care system; and keep Australia Day while understanding our history in the global story. She also has a desire for equality for (actual) women; stronger penalties for crime and proper sentencing; that businesses, particularly small ones, should be ‘supported and not thwarted’; for politicians to help pensioners by raising the pension; build dams for rural Australia; end the war against masculinity; and improve English skills for migrants to ensure that we can all understand each other.
A middle-aged conservative woman that fits the typical blue-ribbon Liberal voter has had enough of the so-called ‘Great Reset’ agenda. When women like her are struggling, they do not enjoy watching ‘independent’ members hanging off the arm of renewables billionaires while refusing to answer basic questions such as what the carbon footprint is of an EV, or how they intend to recycle solar panels and wind turbines. There is a general anger when it comes to the lack of questioning done by the Liberals toward all these left-wing causes. It seems there are no members prepared to fight their Labor counterparts leaving voters feeling as if they have no voice at all.
Another echoed the sentiments of many. ‘I would like to see the Liberal Party return to the values and policies that were set down when the party was formed. I would like to see the best person for the job endorsed as a candidate. I don’t care if it is a man or a woman, just that he or she is the best available.’ She also calls for a ‘reality check’ on climate policy, transgender politics, and the Voice. ‘Most of all, I would love it if the Liberal Party was a real alternative to the loony, lefty Labor Party and the so-called ‘independent’ Teals. I think the focus groups should be sacked. They are obviously rubbish at their job.’ Many would agree.
Other women have requests so reasonable it is astonishing that the Liberals have to be told. ‘I want a Liberal Party to display conservative values, not to crumble under Woke aggression and every stupid Woke idea. I want a Liberal Party that values hard work and individual achievement.’ And for those Liberal MPs who are reading, wondering what women want: ‘I want a Liberal Party that is willing to say that a woman is a woman and a man is a man.’
Another reader insisted that the Liberal Party drop ‘purely tokenistic’ quotas that insult hard-working women and instead encourage young women to become interested in civic duties and make the process compatible with their parental responsibilities. ‘Get back to your liberal conservative values and stand up for them! Show a bit of bloody courage and maybe you’ll attract other courageous people!’
Other women who replied were very interested in the traditional Liberal values of freedom and insisted on an end to emergency laws and medical mandates that cost so many women their careers. These women are angry about the damage that the Liberal Party did in violation of founding liberal principles. In addition, they want the market to decide the future of energy and for politicians to save Australian farms. As one put it, ‘I will not eat ze bugs.’
Many more wrote in, deeply concerned about the education system – both because of its ideological radicalism and because young girls are having their spaces invaded by men under an increasing capitulation to trans ideology. These women, who are mothers and grandmothers, value education and are enraged at the mess it has become while the Liberal Party looked the other way.
A common demand was for politicians to ‘speak in plain English’ when it comes to their policy ideas. Unfortunately, I fear that might be a request too far, given they’d have to understand the policies they were pitching in order to talk about them clearly… ‘The Liberals don’t seem to know what they are, or what they aren’t,’ said one. ‘Draw some lines in the sand – battle lines, as it were – and commit to them. There is nothing worse than flipping and flopping, which is what causes people to give up on the broad church Liberals and follow a narrow path like the Teals.’
‘I would love to see a party that embraces truth, integrity, and freedom,’ said another. ‘A party that doesn’t get seduced by globalists, Marxists, or the frenzied news media. The need to care about people, not the profits, and to honour life.’
‘I want the party to articulate policies that reflect fiscal responsibility, and to ditch the knee-jerk response to every squeaky wheel asking for money that Labor delights in,’ added another.
And while conservative women disagreed about whether climate change was happening (and to what extent) – it is essentially irrelevant because they came to the same conclusion: nuclear energy and old-school, genuine environmentalism that focuses on recycling and cleaning up pollution. No one who responded to my request wanted the Liberals to chase wind turbines, solar panels, or batteries because they were all smart enough to know that they’d be lying in landfill. Conservative women, unlike Liberal MPs, have not been fooled by the lucrative green mining pitch. Also, no one was impressed with the behaviour of Liberal leaders during the pandemic. The viciousness and abuse of power, common to both parties, is something the Liberals can only overcome if they pass policy to remove the powers and admit their error.
On a slightly lighter note, there is a glimmer of hope.
As one lady wrote in, the Liberals need to find more Alex Antics. ‘Not only is he the exact kind of politician that the Liberal Party needs, he also fits the ‘hot middle-aged men’ criteria.’
Women don’t ‘vote for women’ – they vote for strength, intelligence, and strong moral principles. Yes, women have traditionally had a different role to men in society, but being primary caregivers, women are more keenly attuned to desire security and safety when it comes to political leaders. This weak, copycat class of international bureaucrats that scurry around in terror whenever a newspaper blows by are hardly desirable to women.
Conservative women voted for Margaret Thatcher because her balls were so large and heavy that all the other balls in Parliament were forced to revolve around her. Women voted for Tony Abbott because they knew exactly what he stood for and there was a good chance he could personally save people in a crisis, given his work as a volunteer firefighter. John Howard might be physically tiny, but his politics were sharp, clear, and could be relied upon, while his wit was as strong as his eyebrows.
Can anyone quote a single inspiring line from Scott Morrison? What was Malcolm Turnbull’s big dream for Australia and what did he actually achieve? As for Peter Dutton, he has been in the job for longer than the average UK Prime Minister and yet all we know is that he ‘wants detail’.
Before the Liberal Party remodels itself on the shrieks of Antifa sheilas and the elite work-wives of the renewable industry, maybe they should take a moment to talk to the women (and men) who made conservatism the most successful political movement in Australian history…
