The prime minister’s pick for Liberal candidate of Wentworth has called for the Enid Lyons fighting fund to relax its rules to help women win preselection.
Katherine O’Regan – the former deputy mayor of Woollahra who lost the Wentworth preselection to Dave Sharma despite having Scott Morrison’s endorsement – told Guardian Australia female candidates needed access to funds sooner to fight “financially draining” preselection campaigns.
A spokesperson for the federal Liberal party said the fund “has been established to support the re-election of Liberal women MPs and to assist female candidates running in Labor-held seats”.
But the experience of O’Regan and Woollahra councillor Mary Lou-Jarvis – both defeated in early rounds of voting by Sharma, the former MP Peter King and the former Liberal party deputy state director Richard Shields – demonstrated that the first hurdle to winning a seat was to win Liberal preselection.
O’Regan said since the New South Wales Liberal party decided to increase the number of preselectors, prospective candidates faced higher costs.
“Some financial assistance, particularly for women from a broader background would definitely help in terms of working out how to engage and be in touch with preselectors,” she said.
“It will help – but it’s not the only thing that needs to happen from a preselection point of view.”
In July O’Regan made a speech to the Sydney Institute setting out a five-point plan to increase women’s participation in the Liberal party. She told said “stereotypes about what a good candidate should and shouldn’t be” needed to change, because it was “difficult for women” to fit the stereotype.
O’Regan compared recruitment of candidates to identification of talent in sport, where promising athletes are identified two or three cycles before they compete in the Olympics.
“We’re not doing that in politics … spending time to look for candidates in those areas takes time, effort and money.
“The Enid Lyons fund could get involved in finding women from a broader base and supporting them for preselection … Doing that at an earlier stage, to fill the talent pipeline would be useful.”
O’Regan said female candidates could offer a “broader perspective and different life experience”. “More and more now we know that the community is demanding different things. They don’t want the typical candidate and are angry at the self-centredness of politics.”
The president of the Liberal party’s federal women’s committee, Helen Kroger, said she had “no view” on whether the Enid Lyons fund should get involved at the preselection phase.
Kroger said the fighting fund “is a great initiative” but just “one mechanism being used to support women”. He did not specify what other measures were in place or under consideration.
Reports in Fairfax media have suggested Sharma is on track to raise $500,000 for a byelection campaign that could cost up to $1m.
Despite Sharma’s fundraising reputation, O’Regan said she did not think financial support “would have made a difference” in her bid to be preselected in Wentworth.
The minister for women, Kelly O’Dwyer, launched the Enid Lyons fighting fund in May with a pledge of $50,000 that was matched by Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. The small business minister, Michaelia Cash, has also pledged support.
The Liberal party refuses to disclose the amount of money held in the fund or how it would be disbursed.
The Menzies Research Centre will make a donation after its Enid Lyons memorial dinner. Around 350 guests enjoyed drinks, canapes and a two-course dinner at the $250-a-head event ($190 for members) at Old Parliament House on Tuesday 21 August – three days before Morrison replaced Turnbull as Liberal leader.
At the dinner the executive director of the Menzies Research Centre, Nick Cater, promised 50% of proceeds would go to the fighting fund. A source familiar with the matter said the event was “quite expensive” to stage including the hire of AV equipment that sent its cost “through the roof”.
On Wednesday Morrison defended the Liberal party’s record in preselecting women, noting on Radio National that it had just preselected Fiona Kotvojs in Eden Monaro.
“You’ve got Georgina Downer in Mayo, you’ve got Kate Ashmor in the seat of Macnamara, you’ve got Tanya Denison in the winnable slot in the Tasmanian Senate [ticket],” he said. “You’ve got Claire Chandler.”
Morrison claimed all those seats were winnable despite Downer losing the Mayo byelection to Rebekha Sharkie, and Eden Monaro and Macnamara being Labor-held seats, with a further swing towards the opposition expected at the next election.
Morrison said the Liberal party had “more selections to come” and he “looks forward” to more female candidates being selected.
