Crikey asked three female former politicians for their take on women in politics and whether anything has changed.
Natasha stott despoja
Stott Despoja: It’s been a very long pregnant pause for mothers
Eight years ago, former senator Natasha Stott Despoja proposed paid parental leave and was met with opposition from both sides. Times are a-changing, but not quick enough.
Stott Despoja: Why someone needs to keep the bastards honest
Australia’s needs a credible third political force to keep our mistake-making major parties in check, just like Nick Clegg is proving to be in the UK election, says former Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja.
Stott Despoja: Winning Senate friends and influencing cross-bench people
Publicly attacking Senators who block government plans is a fairly novel way of winning their support, when all they need is a bit of charming, explains former senator Natasha Stott Despoja.
Pretty, articulate and a lost cause: Keneally repeats the Stott Despoja experiment
One look at new NSW Premier Kristina Keneally and ‘same horse, different jockey’ comes to mind: no policy changes, just a more friendly media face. No matter who leads it, the NSW ALP is heading for annihilation, says Andrew Clennell.
Stott Despoja: Spilling on last week’s spills
Joe Hockey was drafted to run as Liberal leader before he was ready. Just because you can win it, doesn’t mean you should run, writes Natasha Stott Despoja, reflecting back on her own Democrats experience.
Baby in the chamber: the ugly anti-family face of parliament
Our Parliamentary standards are still stuck in a Victorian era of old white male legislators, writes Bernard Keane.
Anti-family attitudes are embedded in our parliament
Do we want mothers of young children (and hopefully fathers with child care responsibilities) to be MPs or not? asks Senator Sue Boyce.
An attack on Mayne’s Democrats revisionism
Crikey didn’t kill the Democrats, writes Andrew Le Clercq. It was merely a loud eager-beaver Greek chorus thingy on the sidelines.
Stephen Mayne: How we killed the Democrats
Crikey wrote the obit for the Democrats before the last election. Stephen Mayne rakes over the coals of Crikey’s reportage on the demise of Don Chipp’s dream.
Ladies, bring a platitude: just 24 hours to feminise the summit
Sharpen your pencils and uncap your pens ladies — you’ve got until 5pm tomorrow to fill out a nomination form to earn a slot in the chosen 1000 people who will make up the 2020 summit.
Yarralumla dreaming: Crikey readers nominate their GGs
We threw suggestions open for Crikey readers to nominate who they would like to see become the next Governor General of Australia. From Skippy to David Flint to the fat kid from Hey Dad … if you don’t ask you don’t get.
Howard Government insider writes for Crikey
Are you sick of only hearing about Federal politics from political journalists. Would you rather get an insight from a government insider. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Hillary Bray is one of two sexes: male or female. He/she has definitely worked for the Howard government and may still do - we’re not saying. This is his/her first column for Crikey.
