Ms Banks,who made her speech to a near-empty House of Representatives,was later surrounded by other crossbenchers.

Ms Banks,who made her speech to a near-empty House of Representatives,was later surrounded by other crossbenchers.Credit:Alex Elinghausen

“The gift of time and reflection has provided some clarity regarding the brutal blow against the leadership,” Ms Banks said.

“Led by members of the reactionary right wing,the coup was aided by many MPs trading their vote for a leadership change in exchange for their individual promotion,preselection endorsements or silence.

“Their actions were undeniably for themselves,for their position in the party,their power,their personal ambition – not for the Australian people who we represent,not for what people voted for in the 2016 election,not for stability. And disregarding that teamwork and stability delivers success.

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“The aftermath of those dark days in August acutely laid bare the major parties’ obstructionist and combative actions and internal games – all for political point scoring rather than for timely,practical,sensible decisions on matters which Australians care about.”

She made her speech to a near-empty House of Representatives,suggesting her move caught the government by surprise given Mr Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had scheduled an 11:45am press conference in the Prime Minister’s courtyard.

Ms Banks was previously a lawyer in corporate Australia and has said the Liberal Party's attitude to women,as well as the wider Parliament's attitude to women,is out of step with modern Australia.

“Equal representation of men and women in this Parliament is an urgent imperative which will create a culture change,” she told the chamber.

“There’s the blinkered rejection of quotas and the merit myth,but this is more than a numbers game. Across both major parties,the level of regard and respect for women in politics is years behind the business world.

“There is also a clear need for an independent and whistleblower system as found in many workplaces to enable reporting of misconduct of those in power without fear of reprisal or retribution.

“Often,when good women call out or are subject to bad behaviour,the reprisals,backlash and commentary portrays them as the bad ones – the liar,the troublemaker,the emotionally unstable or weak,or someone who should be silenced.”

Ms Banks said the hallmark characteristics of Australian women were “resilience and a strong,authentic,independent spirit”.

The remarks leave room for Ms Banks to run as an independent at the next federal election. She is regarded as a serious contender in any race,given she won the marginal electorate of Chisholm from Labor at the 2016 election without significant funding from Liberal Party headquarters,a source of tension in the past with state party president Michael Kroger.

“My sensible and centrist values,belief in economic responsibility and always putting the people first and acting in the nation’s interest have not changed,” Ms Banks said.

“The Liberal Party has changed,largely due to the actions of the reactionary and regressive right wing who talk about and talk to themselves rather than listening to the people.”

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