New NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane used her first press conference to highlight the family unit as her top priority. The following day, she was speaking to the declining birth rate and reinstating IVF rebates. This is a practical measure differentiating us from Labor (which cut the rebate) and it provides with us with a real, material issue with cut-through, not just a culture war.
In the same realm but as a more specific experience, we must speak to the sandwich generation; the young parents – particularly women – who are in the trenches with young children while simultaneously looking after ageing or dying parents. This stress-inducing dilemma. which can be linked to a rise in burnout and depression for women, has so far been neglected by policymakers.
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Aside from policy, there is finally a perfect opportunity for the Liberal Party to address its own ageing and shrinking membership. The party has been seen as being anti-women – a repellent for grassroots recruitment. But with women in positions of power, we can use this moment to flood the Liberal Party base with younger, modern members – and yes, women.
I have pitched before the idea of new Hilma’s Network branches that would be the antithesis of current branch meetings, which are often not appealing to people who don’t want to recite Sir Robert Menzies’ “Forgotten People” speech, tick off the minutes from the last meeting, argue about the party’s constitution, or have to make childcare arrangements to attend.
If we are going to do a mass flooding of the party to decrease the average age and increase diversity, we should also waive the wait time for new members to take part in preselection votes.
Right now across the country, different state divisions have different wait times (some take years) before you have the right to vote in the preselection of candidates. This means that members who are energetic and excited to join would be prevented from taking part in the upcoming preselections for state elections in 2026 and 2027, and possibly even for the next federal election.
In a world of instant gratification, it is unrealistic to think that new members would simply watch on while twiddling their thumbs and yet still remain engaged. The new recruits will lose interest and they will walk away before we’ve even got a chance to make a positive impact.
The idea of the wait times was a noble one; it was designed to prevent branch-stacking. But I fear some of the obstructions we put in place to prevent branch-stacking are also obstructing new interest and recruits.
The Liberal Party has a rare moment that many have been waiting a decade for; a moment where we can proudly showcase the intellect and power of Liberal women, talk about real policies, not cultural wars and fix systemic issues within.
We cannot waste the moment.
Charlotte Mortlock is a co-founder of Hilma’s Network, which supports Liberal women, and a former Sky News anchor.
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