Quotas for the Liberal Party?

08 July 2010Judith Troeth is trying to persuade Liberals that more women in the parliamentary party means a larger pool of talent, writes Marian Sawer in Inside Story

VICTORIAN Liberal Senator Judith Troeth is a brave woman. In 2005 she was part of the group led by Petro Georgiou MP that forced the release of women and children from immigration detention. In late 2009 she crossed the floor to support ending the mandatory billing of asylum seekers for detention – a policy that had resulted in unpayable debts and a lifetime penalty for some asylum seekers. This year she has been a vocal critic of opposition leader Tony Abbott’s policy of reinstating offshore processing and restoring temporary protection visas.

Senator Troeth was also one of the four women senators, each from a different party, who co-sponsored the 2006 private members’ bill that removed the ministerial veto over the importation of the “abortion pill” RU486. The veto had been in place for ten years and was a legacy of an agreement between the Howard government and the independent senator, Brian Harradine. Its removal was a unique…

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