Tony Abbott has always been unpopular with women. The latest poll of more than 2000 women conducted by the Mamamia Women’s Network shows that support has plumetted to a dramatic new low.
In a revealing poll of Mamamia Women’s Network readers readers, 86% want to see a change in the leadership of the Liberal Party, with Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop significantly outstripping Tony Abbott as preferred Prime Minister.
49% of readers of Australia’s most widely read women’s website back Malcolm Turnbull to lead the nation, and 22% of readers would prefer to see Julie Bishop in the top job. Tony Abbott is the least popular proposed leader in the poll at 14%.
“Women have been suspicious of Tony Abbott ever since he tried to block the introduction of the abortion drug RU486 when he was health minister back in 2006,” said Mamamia Women’s Network co-founder Mia Freedman.
“With his Paid Parental Leave policy, he managed to buy a lot of goodwill from women as well as a lot of votes. Regardless of the policy’s merits, it was an effective tool in helping quell voter concerns about his attitudes to women.
“But even before he dumped it last week in a cynical bid to retain his leadership, women had deserted him. This poll confirms that Abbott is perhaps the most unpopular leader among women this country has ever seen.
“Women want Malcolm Turnbull to lead the Liberal party. They always have. In every poll we’ve done he has been preferred leader among women by a margin of 3 to 1.”
“We’ve seen a trend in women turning away from Tony Abbott. His performance as Minister for Women has been widely condemned,” said editor-in-chief of the Mamamia Women’s Network, Jamila Rizvi said.
“He has spent the past 12 months progressively defunding essential services for women and refusing to engage with women’s media outlets. He has only two women to his Cabinet and on Australia Day? Two Knights, no Dames. When asked, Abbott has said the most significant thing he has done for Australian women is repeal the carbon tax – which is truly abysmal” Rizvi said
Mia Freedman and Jamila Rizvi are available for comment.
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Eeycee, you are a a.l.p nasty joke, what makes you think that Tony Abbott does not speak for women at all?. When he was health minister, he gave taxpayer's money towards breast cancer research that was taken away by Labor's Nicola Roxon, but I guess in your tiny mind giving any money towards breast cancer research means someone doesn't speak for any women do they?.
Perhaps we could get a bit of methodology about this 'poll' and its rigour. What exactly was the question? What were the follow up and preceding questions? How was a random sample of voters obtained? How did it balance by income, education and voter preference? Was it a random telephone survey, postal survey or email? How were the results evaluated afterwards to ensure there was no accidental bias? These are the sort of polls you take seriously otherwise it's of no value whatsoever except to confirm that the writers on this site and most of its readers really, really, totally don't like Tony Abbott (which we sort of knew).
no. lose the loser, he doesn't speak for women at all.