SHARON CLAYDON, CHAIR OF LABOR STATUS FOR WOMEN COMMITTEE: And my name is Sharon Clayden, one of my roles is chairing Labor's Status of Women Committee. In breaking news today, we’ve just heard that Peter Dutton has rolled the New South Wales Liberal Party in efforts to put two women onto their review panel. We know that the New South Wales Liberal Party is in a world of problems, but being rolled now by Mr Dutton, with the federal intervention, that trouble is destined to really set in. Because in this week, we know that, well, let's start with Mr Dutton. We already know he's got a problem with women. He doesn't hear women, he doesn't listen to women, he just doesn't get us. But on top of that, he seems incapable to learning from history. Just this week in Parliament, we have celebrated the Australian Labor Party's 30th anniversary of affirmative action. This is delivering phenomenal results for not just Australian women, but for our nation as a whole. It has delivered for the nation's first time a female majority government. Why is that important? Because we know that when we include women in our decision making processes, at every level, at every step of the way along that path, we get better decisions, we get better outcomes for not just Australian women and families, but for the nation as a whole. Sadly, Mr Dutton has learned none of this. Indeed, he should have listened to one of the more senior Liberal women who's chosen to step away from parliamentary life now, my colleague, Karen Andrews, from across the floor. I sat in the chamber and listened very carefully about her contribution to the debate this week. Now Ms Andrews is not somebody who is rash in her decision making at all. She's a very thoughtful and constructive contributor to policy discussions in Australia. She was not somebody who originally supported quotas for the Liberal Party, and she thought, because of all of her experience in workplaces prior to coming to Parliament, that, you know, that the world operated on merit. Well, she’s arrived at a very different place at the end of her career, and said, whilst she initially didn't think that quotas were the way to go, she's observed what has happened across the aisle. 30 years ago, we both entered into this sort of experiment phase about how women might be better represented in our democracy. We had about 14 per cent each in our party rooms. And as I said, the Australian Labor Party now sits at 53 per cent female. So you can see, there's been a very very live demonstration for everyone to see of what works. Sadly, Mr Dutton chooses to be blind even to the most, the most blatant evidence in front of him, he sits and watches us every day on the opposite side of the bench, and yet cannot see his way to appoint two women to a review panel that might go some way to helping the Liberal Party figure out why they don't connect with Australian women. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: How important is it, or has it been, for Labor to actually ensuring that there are women in pre-selection races?

CLAYDON: Well, there's two important things about the affirmative action rule. It's not that we just insist that there are 50 per cent women in our races, in our pre-selection races, but we've got women in winnable seats. You can't just put all your women into the marginal seats, because you're never going to get to your 50 per cent quota. So there was another important rule that Labor applied in our affirmative action rule, and that is, if you don't get to reach your quota, you actually have to spill the pre-selection race and start again. Nothing exercises the mind more than having a rule with a consequence attached to the target and ambition. That is how Labor has achieved 53 per cent women in our Federal Parliamentary Labor Party room. It requires thoughtful, purposeful, conscious decision making. You don't, you know, we didn't arrive with a majority female government by accident. This is 30 years in the making, learning from previous mistakes, being thoughtful, methodical and conscious about our desire to ensure that there is, you know, gender equity in our party room. This is what the Liberal Party, you know, could not have had a better partner to learn from, really. I mean, it's been all out there in public. We don't do anything behind closed doors. For goodness sake, you all are at our National Conferences where we make these decisions and have these debates. There's no secret recipe here. I would willingly gift all of our knowledge and experience across to Mr Dutton but I know he doesn't listen, and that's the problem. Doesn't listen, doesn't get it, doesn't want to know. He's profoundly out of touch.

JOURNALIST: Can Labor get rid of those rules now?

CLAYDON: Absolutely not. Forever vigilant.