Standing Against Misogyny

Ms WELLS (Lilley) (13:45): It's a big day at the buck-passing factory for this PM, who has said of his own party's branch-stacking scandal that it's simply an organisational matter for the Liberal Party—except that the PM and the government are not accountable only to the Liberal Party; they are not accountable only to their card-carrying party members. They are accountable to all Australian taxpayers, who acted in good faith and elected them to govern with integrity. It is well past time that this federal government signed up for a federal ICAC.

And this 'barren womb' message coming out of the Victorian Liberal Party proves that misogyny still lies at the very heart of the ruling political party in this country. Misogyny is dictating how our ruling party is run, who matters and who doesn't, who has power and who doesn't, who is worthy and who isn't. If not for the miracles of modern science, I myself would still be in possession of a barren womb. Australian women who have any qualifications in this space don't need me to speak for them, because their resilience is forged already. But I want them to know that one of their own stands here elected in the national parliament to fight back against misogyny and the entrenched attitudes coming out of the governing party and to work with decent people to make sure that these kinds of attitudes are banished from the corridors of power finally and for good.