Leading political commentators say the National Party should chose a female candidate to replace Mallee MP Andrew Broad, who has decided not to re-contest the next Federal election.
Mr Broad has withdrawn his nomination for Mallee, following allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
He said after recent media stories about his private life, it was clear the people of Mallee would be best served by a different Nationals candidate.
“I have done my best and at times we have achieved good things, but I have also let them down,” Mr Broad said.
A woman, reported to be 20 years younger than Mr Broad, told New Idea the married MP met with her after a month of correspondence that began through a dating website, during a taxpayer-funded trip to Hong Kong.
Pick a woman
Commentator Kevin Bonham said running a female candidate for Mallee would be a wise move.
“They have a serious gender inequality problem in the Federal Parliament and they have issues with men getting into these sorts of troubles,” Dr Bonham said.
“Do they want to be seen as the party of lads who give lip service to family values but get up to these hijinks?”
Do they want to be seen as the party of lads who give lip service to family values but get up to these hijinks?
- Kevin Bonham, political commentator
Dr Bonham said the party must also take into account its loss in the state seat of Mildura, to former local councillor and independent Ali Cupper.
Dr Bonham said it appeared Mildura had a strong pattern of selecting independents.
“The other surrounding National Party held state seats are more solid, with less of this history independent insurgency,”he said.
“It’s a big electorate and its not an easy one for a start up independent to cover - but its going to be interesting to see if someone does have a go at it.”
Mr Bonham said the National Party had moved against former leader Barnaby Joyce, as he was in a more prominent position than Mr Broad.
“They chucked Barnaby Joyce under a bus, because he held a higher level than being a local member of Parliament.
“I think the main difference is between Joyce being the leader and Broad just being a run of the mill MP.
“If he had tried to hold his seat, it may well have been that he would have been disendorsed.
“ I suspect it would have been made clear to him, he wasn’t going to be endorsed.”
Position untenable
Monash University senior lecturer in politics Nick Economou agreed.
“The only way the National Party can rescue the seat is with a female candidate,” Dr Economou said.
“What was notable was how well female sitting National Party candidates did in the State election, which was otherwise a disaster for the non-Labor side of politics.”
He said Mr Broad’s position was now untenable, as he had shown an appalling lack of judgement.
“It goes into the category of arch conservatives, who lecture us all on the importance of family values, but are not able to reach the lofty standing they preach and come across as hypocritical.”
He said Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie might be persuaded to stand for the seat, but there would be a risk in her transferring to the lower house.
Dr Economou said the scandal was a political disaster, which couldn’t have come at a worse time for the government.
“In the morning, we had a mind-numbing lecture from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on the economy and the day ended with a salacious sex scandal,” he said.
Blokey image
Ms Cupper said the views and behaviours of National Party parliamentarians did not square with the views of residents of modern regional communities.
“They have traded on being good, honorable, salt of the earth country blokes,” Ms Cupper said.
“The party has up and coming women, and I certainly want to acknowledge them, but in terms of the public portrayal, it is still a very blokey image.
“Women are in the shadows of the men and men are still the spokespeople for the party.
“In the eyes of many socially conservative voters, at least they have been good blokes – at the heart of it, they are good, old fashioned, family values traditionalists.
“That’s a very difficult image to maintain, with any credibility, when you have this sort of conduct.”
She said her recent critique of the National Party had been met with bullying, belittling and dismissive behaviour.
“What the National Party really needs to do is some soul searching, as to what it means to be relevant in terms of a modern, regional community,” Ms Cupper said.
Mallee is currently one of the the safest coalition seats in the Federal Parliament, with a 20 per cent margin.
The allegations follow a string of bad news for the Nationals. Queensland Nationals Senator Barry O’Sullivan was criticised for crude comments to South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, and his staffer sent an offensive message to a female journalist.
Former Western Australia Rural Woman of the Year Catherine Marriott alleged misconduct by Barnaby Joyce, in an incident at a Canberra hotel in August last year.
Mr Joyce has denied any wrongdoing.
