Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is alleged that sitting state Labor member for the electorate of Mount Coot-Tha, Mr Andrew Fraser, has been making sexist, distasteful and cruel comments about his opponent. This is from the Queensland current state Treasurer and deputy premier. These alleged comments have been made by Mr Fraser and are criticism of the inability of the LNP candidate for Mount Coot-Tha, Mrs Saxon Rice, to understand financial pressures on families because she does not have children.

The Labor government claims to champion gender equality and support women's participation in government via their quota system, but these reported comments by Mr Fraser show just how hypocritical Labor really is. This matter highlights that inequalities and negative perceptions of women continue to prevail in this country. Of note is that Australia ranks 23rd in the world gender gap report of 134 countries, listed three places down since the last report and six places down from the 2007 ranking. For the record, Mrs Rice has eight nieces and nephews and a wonderful family. Irrespective of her gender, Saxon Rice deserves a place in parliament.