She is intelligent, successful, well-connected and talented - but it wasn’t enough to get NSW Rural Woman of the Year Jillian Kilby over the line in the Nationals Dubbo preselection.
Her loss in the preselection battle has amazed many, who are asking questions about serious gender equality in politics, and in The Nationals.
Ms Kilby is not upset at the result, she says she is dissappointed, and she was “100 per cent behind Dugald Saunders” campaign for The Nationals in Dubbo.
But maybe this highly qualified engineer who runs a leading engineering consultancy is thinking, why bother again?
But the advice from the Nationals Dubbo branch president Greg Matthews is clear to Jillian: “she’s got a great future, stay involved and she’ll get there”.
On preselection day, both Ms Kilby and Mr Saunders were the top candidates and in front of the 120 preselectors and the candidates families, both gave strong speeches. But Mr Saunders’ speech won the day, many believed. He has been an ABC radio host in the area for 10 years, and many felt his name would have great resonance in the electorate, especially with doubts the Nationals can hold on to the seat with the backlash over council mergers still to play out in the next state election in March.
Ms Kilby said she was enthused by the preselection process. She didn’t feel she lost the vote because she didn’t fit the stereotype.
“My young nephew George, 7, was there and before I went to speak he said ‘Go Aunty Jilly, it’s a buyers’ market’. And when I was on stage my niece Lily, 4, was waving to me. Afterwards she asked “Aunty Jilly you didn’t wave back to me!” “I was disappointed (at losing the vote), but when I woke up on Sunday, I thought, ‘things happen for a reason’. I look at the positive about anything.”
Some in The Nationals have suggested Ms Kilby should seek an Upper House ticket. In the meantime she is busy with her infrastructure engineering business, and getting major regional projects ‘shovel ready”. And encouraging younger women to aspire to professions. “It was all a wonderful experience being involved in the preselection process,” she said.
Ms Kilby was soon back in the swing of things attending the Nationals Federal Senate preselection at NSW Parliament which she found interesting.