Our community is 50% women – and now so is Queensland’s Cabinet.
New Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced her 14 person ministry – and her Cabinet features eight women, including Indigenous MP, Leeanne Enoch.
The Palaszczuk Cabinet is smaller than the previous Newman ministry, which had 19 members, plus 12 assistant ministers. The new Premier has named only one assistant minister, making the Government substantially more streamlined.
The new Cabinet is substantially more representative than previous. Only 3 members of Newman’s 19 person Cabinet were women (15%).
The Premier has named a woman as her Deputy. Jackie Trad has also been named Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, and Minister for Trade.
Leanne Enoch, a Nunukul-Nughi woman from North Stradbroke Island, has been appointed Minister for Housing and Public Works, and Minister for Science and Innovation
The 44 new Labor MPs gathered today and Palaszczuk reflected on the radical shift in her party’s radical shift in fortunes: “I think back three years ago there were seven us of us … look now.
She told them, “We have climbed Mount Everest … but having climbed Mount Everest there is now an enormous amount of responsibility that needs to be placed on each and every caucus member sitting here today.
“That’s the responsibility of standing up for your constituents each and every day, not to be silent, but to represent them and fight for them every step of the way.”
Top Comments
This is great, but not for gender reasons. I'm seriously hopefully that we're reaching a watershed in Australian politics where the divisive, violent, sneering politics we currently endure is so bad that we're starting to elect people who are demonstrably the opposite. Time will tell with the new Qld Premier, but I saw her being interviewed and ... well, hopefully she continues with the respectful yet decisive, thoughtful but active policy settings she seems to want to provide.
I think TA and Newman have given us a huge shock in terms of how poor ideological, divisive politics serves us all - including those who voted them in. Consensus politics might appear weak but when you bring most of the people with you, you actually get it done.
I'm not as hopeful as you Cold November. I'd love to be proved wrong but I honestly don't think we've had a great Premier in Queensland since the late Wayne Goss. Politics in Queensland and federally seems to be going down a road where the opposition will do or say anything to get elected and then stuff things up more when they come to power only for the new opposition to do or say anything to get elected and then stuff up even more when they come to power etc.
I'd love to see a PM, Premier or Opposition Leader who is willing to work with the other side in order to make our country/state a better place ... leave it in a better position then when you arrived and all that. I would vote for that leader no matter what side of politics they come from, whether they are male, female or transgender. Unfortunately I see no real leaders out there and if I'm right, we'll continue on the same cycle for many more years.
And you've stated the problem in Australian politics. Hopefully, we'll start getting more hung parliaments where we may actually get a decent outcome for the country rather than a divisive, ideological outcome.
It is amazing to me how people will immediately question whether the women have been appointed on merit or not, but when the majority of appointments are men no one bats an eye. Are the men appointed on merit, goodness me I HOPE so. Seeing as we all know historically men have definitely been appointed based on gender - that was part of the whole point, after all.