Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto urges colleagues to 'do more' to elect female MPs
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto has conceded the Liberal Party has "got to do more" to boost female representation among its ranks, but says the idea of quotas will not win support in the party.
In an interview with the ABC's Stateline, Mr Pesutto said all men needed to do better in calling out disrespectful behaviour to women as the nation grapples with a surge in gender-based violence.
"Underneath all of the other things we're doing, all the other things we're funding, there has to be a culture … where people like myself are calling out that behaviour and demanding more of men," Mr Pesutto said.
"We still have too much violence embedded in our conversations and our culture and men do need to change."
Experts have long said greater equality, including political representation, will help build respect for women. It also helps foster better policy if more women are involved in decision making.
But just 10 out of 30 state Liberal MPs are women.
Female representation has long been a sore spot for the party, but Liberals have resisted setting up quotas for preselection.
By contrast, Labor has adopted an affirmative action policy which it credits with helping it reach 50:50 representation.
But Mr Pesutto said the party's powerful state council would not support a quota system.
"There are many different pathways to improving female representation in parliament," he said.
"I certainly understand it. My predecessors have understood. And we know we've got to do more."
Mr Pesutto said the key was encouraging more women to run and winning more seats in parliament.
The opposition has a big hill to climb to erode Labor's majority
History suggests it will be very hard for Jacinta Allan and Labor to win a fourth term.
On the other hand, the government holds 56 out of 88 seats (although two Labor MPs have been kicked out of caucus).
The Coalition has just 29 seats, making its task to win very difficult.
The adage is that governments lose elections, oppositions don't win them, but there is still a challenge for the Coalition to be seen as a viable alternative.
Liberals widely admit their party has suffered brand damage for years.
Mr Pesutto said he was working hard and was acutely aware of the challenge ahead.
The ABC surveyed a handful of voters in Pakenham, one of the most marginal seats in the state.
Many of them did not know who Mr Pesutto was.
Premier Jacinta Allan garnered a similar response when the ABC surveyed voters earlier this year.
Loading..."No, I have no idea," one laughed.
"I can't remember his name, but he's the opposition leader," another said.
Another person felt he needed to go harder on the government.
Mr Pesutto said there needed to be a balance between tough criticism and constructive ideas.
He rejected suggestions that his opposition was relentlessly negative about the government, saying it had provided alternative policies on issues such as bail reform and project management.
Amid the current crisis of violence against women, Mr Pesutto said there needed to be more funding for programs and less focus on bureaucracy.
He said the state needed to tackle the delays in getting women help, including in the courts.
“Making sure we have the corrections workers in the justice system, workers who are actually following through on monitoring and supervision," he said.
"Because the tragic fact is that in just about all of these catastrophic cases, whether it's family violence or violence against women and children, generally, most of the perpetrators are known to the justice system.”
No easy answers on reining in Victoria's ballooning debt
Treasurer Tim Pallas will deliver his 10th budget on Tuesday, which is widely tipped to be the most austere of his time in office, with the state's debt continuing to grow. The last official figures had debt at around $135 billion and rising.
Mr Pesutto said that debt was the biggest challenge for Victoria.
"The implications of debt on health, education, roads, child protection, you name it, the full range of health services, is creating a cost-of-living crisis for Victoria. And it all stems from financial mismanagement,'' Mr Pesutto said.
"It's going to take some time to turn Victoria around."
Pressed on how he would tackle the issue, Mr Pesutto said infrastructure projects needed to be reviewed and better managed.
The Coalition has already said it will not build the Suburban Rail Loop, but the state government has already signed contracts worth billions of dollars to begin works on the eastern section of the loop between Box Hill and Cheltenham, which will cost at least $34 billion.
Pressed on what the Coalition would do if it won office in 2026, when works are likely to be well underway, Mr Pesutto said the project would be reviewed.
"We will need to see what stage the project is at — we're obviously not going to leave a gaping hole in the ground," he said.
So, will the Coalition finish the project?
"We'll pause it and review it. The issue is this if you commit to the whole project, you're committing to a $200 to $300 billion project. We're not going to do that,'' he said.
The Coalition, he said, would support cuts to the public service as long as it was not frontline services, but said his plan for budget repair did not include raising taxes.
But he was unable to clearly state how the opposition would completely fix the state's budget woes.
Next week's budget is unlikely to bring good news for the government, and should provide plenty of ammunition for a Coalition focused on being relevant.
The challenge it will face is to remain constructive, while also highlighting the government's flaws.