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Channel Nine’s The Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson put the Prime Minister on the spot on Monday morning when she asked him what he thought was his biggest achievement as the country’s Minister for Women.
Channel Nine’s The Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson put the Prime Minister on the spot on Monday morning when she asked him what he thought was his biggest achievement as the country’s Minister for Women.
“Well, you know,” he said. “It is very important to do the right thing by families and households.
“As many of us know, women are particularly focused on the household budget and the repeal of the carbon tax means a $550 a year benefit for the average family.”
He then promised to have his “fair dinkum” paid parental leave scheme introduced to the Parliament in 2015 and that he was “very pleased” to have elevated three women to the cabinet in a reshuffle.
His response to the question prompted sniggers on social media with the hashtag #ThanksTony taking off.
With the money saved from repealing the #CarbonTax @katemclennan1 bought an iron and I bought a pregnant! #ThanksTony pic.twitter.com/AMkHdJJ4i4
The repeal of the carbon tax was a great thing for women. We no longer need men to splain what it is to us. #thanksTony
Cabinet reshuffle
Tony Abbott’s announcement on Sunday of a cabinet reshuffle saw a second woman promoted to the Cabinet, with the appointment of Sussan Ley as Minister for Health and Sport.
Two female parliamentary secretaries were also announced with Kelly O’Dwyer being made parliamentary secretary to the Treasurer and Karen Andrews parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Industry and Science.
Following his Today Show interview, Abbott faced Natalie Barr on Channel Seven’s Sunrise, who asked if he was “embarrassed” by the small number of females on his frontbench.
“We have actually seven women on the frontbench,” he replied.
“We have got two cabinet ministers, two outer ministry ministers and three parliamentary secretaries so look, there are women in the corridors of power.
“The challenge… is to get more women into public life, more women into the Parliament [and] once we have got more women in the Parliament, we will have more women in the ministry and more women in the cabinet.”
