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“Even if there’s a 10 per cent chance of Gladys being able to run,why wouldn’t we leave the door open as an option and give her more time?” said one party insider,speaking on condition of anonymity.
Barrister Jane Buncle has nominated to run for Warringah butThe Herald andThe Age have been told she is willing to step aside if Ms Berejiklian puts her hand up. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg isinstrumental in talks to try to persuade Ms Berejiklian to run.
The ICAC report will not be released before preselections close on January 14,but submissions from counsel assisting are due by December 20 – which will indicate to Ms Berejiklian where findings are heading.
This week,Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins recommended as part of efforts to stamp out a parliamentary workplace culture that leads to bullying and sexual harassment,that all parties should set 10-year plans with targets and concrete actions to improve diversity and reach gender parity.
Labor first instituted gender quotas in the 1990s and has ratcheted the level up since then. Its federal parliamentary team is now 48 per cent women. About a quarter of the Coalition’s federal parliamentarians are women.
The NSW party executive made its decision unanimously after consulting Mr Morrison and NSW Liberal Women’s Council president Mary-Lou Jarvis. She said the party was on track to meet the new target,which covered incumbent MPs and new candidates.
However,the target applied only to the 2022 federal election,due to be held by mid-May. The executive would have to make a further decision if it wanted a similar target in future.
Mr Morrison also defended his actions instanding aside Education Minister Alan Tudge on Thursday and launching an independent investigation into the nature of his relationship with a former staffer.
A year ago,when Mr Tudge’s former adviser Rachelle Miller first spoke publicly of their relationship,Mr Morrison said family breakdowns were sad but “these things happen in Australia” and there was “no suggestion here of anything unconsensual”.
Ms Miller gave new details of their relationship on Thursday describing it as one with a “significant power imbalance” and alleging Mr Tudge had been “emotionally,and on one occasion,physically,abusive” during the relationship.
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She reiterated this on Friday,alleging on Twitter:“To make it very clear,I DID NOT CONSENT to emotional&physical abuse by someone who also told me ‘he couldn’t live without me’.”
Mr Tudge denies this characterisation,saying he had “accepted responsibility for a consensual affair that should not have happened” but that Ms Miller’s further allegations were wrong.
Mr Morrison said Ms Miller raised new matters,and he now thought it best to ask his department for “advice on potential implications for the ministerial standards” after respected investigator Vivienne Thom had examined the details.
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