THE HON MELISSA PRICE MP
MINISTER OF DEFENCE INDUSTRY
Interview with Neil Mitchell – 3AW
NEIL MITCHELL: Melissa Price is the federal Minister for Defence Industry in the Morrison government. Ms Price, good morning.
MELISSA PRICE: Good morning, Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL: Do you think you got preselection in part because you were female?
MELISSA PRICE: Well, I’m on record, Neil, of saying that I don’t think that it was a factor against me in preselection. It didn’t work against me. But I often think that it was more to do with, you know, that big woman with the red hair and the bright blue jacket and the great big personality. I was up against 13 people on that day, Neil. And a number of them were farmers, and I probably unkindly say that a lot of them looked the same – grey suits, grey hair and there was a number of farmers. But, you know, I’ve been corrected. I know there with a couple of people from different industries, but there were 13 people and there was 3 women and 10 men.
NEIL MITCHELL: Well, I don’t like quotas, but is this what we’ve got to try? Do we have to trial a quota system to get more women into the parliament, more women into the ministry?
MELISSA PRICE: Well, frankly, I’m glad we’re having this conversation, Neil, because maybe, maybe. You know, I’m not quite sitting on the fence, but I think we need to have a broader conversation with our party. But what we’ve seen in Western Australia – and I’m really proud of what we’ve done – we’re really focusing on the pipeline, because as your listener just said, you know, you’ve got to get women interested in being members of parliament. It’s not enough just to have a quota, we’re not just going to drag people off the street. Clearly we need the right people to be representatives in our state and federal parliament. So what we’ve done in Western Australia is we’ve been working hard at getting people interested –
NEIL MITCHELL: Well, is it working?
MELISSA PRICE: I believe so. I believe so.
NEIL MITCHELL: Okay, so what percentage of women are members?
MELISSA PRICE: Sorry, so quotas is not the only answer, but certainly what we’ve seen in WA by having an informal mentoring program, a number of events during the year, and, you know, I don’t want to talk about the WA state election result, but, you know, we had a number of very good female candidates that were running, and, you know, they didn’t get up. But what we’ve got to do now, especially the WA federal women, is that we’ve got to work hard to keep those women interested and engaged.
NEIL MITCHELL: Okay. Do men moderate the behaviour of women? Sorry, the other way around – do women moderate the behaviour of men?
MELISSA PRICE: Yes, I think so. I think so.
NEIL MITCHELL: That’s an argument to change the culture.
MELISSA PRICE: It’s not just about behaviour, but, you know, I think what we’ve seen in the business world and some reviews have shown that with an increase of female directors can come an increase in profitability. So you would have to say that, well, if we’re talking about, you know, the most serious board in the land being, you know, the federal cabinet table, then you’d have to say, well, you know, perhaps we’d get some better decision-making.
NEIL MITCHELL: Have you ever had any problems in Canberra? Most female MPs seem to be saying they’ve been sexually harassed at some stage. Have you copped that?
MELISSA PRICE: No, I haven’t. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious issue. You know, whether it’s just been luck or management, I don’t know. I can’t really judge that. But I do know that, you know, many of my colleagues, members of parliament but also staff as well, have been treated badly. And, of course, this is what we’re talking about. You know, and, in fact, this is why I’m so pleased we’re having this conversation more broadly. But it’s not just about federal parliament, as you know, Neil. You know, we need to have a much broader conversation, and for someone like me who represents the largest electorate in the land, you know, I represent regional and rural women, and they care just as much about their safety at home, at work and on the street.
NEIL MITCHELL: I don’t – I won’t name any of the people because that wouldn’t be proper at the moment – but are you aware or do you know any of the men accused of behaving so atrociously in these recent videos?
MELISSA PRICE: Yes, I am aware of one of them. Yes.
NEIL MITCHELL: Were you ever aware they could be capable of such a thing?
MELISSA PRICE: No, no. And, in fact, when I’ve been asked yesterday numerous times how did I feel, my reaction was really just pure shock that people would think that that was appropriate behaviour anywhere
NEIL MITCHELL: Yeah, but this is a person you knew.
MELISSA PRICE: – let alone in federal parliament.
NEIL MITCHELL: A person you knew. I mean, that must have been even more confronting. Did you ever have any suspicion they were such a person?
MELISSA PRICE: No, of course not. Of course not. Why would you ever assume someone would – anyone would behave like that in federal parliament.
NEIL MITCHELL: Or anywhere.
MELISSA PRICE: Or anywhere, frankly. You know, it is a workplace. You know, I come back to this all the time – this is a workplace and what we’ve been learning about it, especially this week, is that things that have taken place in federal parliament you wouldn’t expect that to happen in BHP, would you, or Ernst & Young or that small accounting firm. So we need to be better. You know, it is a place of work and it needs to be treated that way.
NEIL MITCHELL: One last point: is there a danger if we have a quota system that women, some women, will feel a bit demeaned and say, “Look, I’m only there because of my chromosomes; I’m not here because I’m the right person or the best person for the job.” That’s a danger isn’t it?
MELISSA PRICE: Absolutely. And that’s why, as I said, I’m not quite getting splinters on my backside sitting on the fence, Neil, but I think we do have to have the conversation. What does it actually look like. And, of course, men have got to be part of that conversation.
NEIL MITCHELL: How do we make it bipartisan? You know, I’d love to see politics out of it. Everybody tells me they’d love to see politics out of it. Why can’t we get the Prime Minister and the opposition leader standing together saying, “Come on, let’s change this culture”?
MELISSA PRICE: Well, you know, there’s no doubt that we could learn from other parties. And, you know, I think that should be part of our more broader conversation.
NEIL MITCHELL: You can learn from the Labor Party?
MELISSA PRICE: I’m not suggesting that, but, you know, we have to look at –
NEIL MITCHELL: Well, they’ve made a change.
MELISSA PRICE: – whether that has been successful for them or not.
NEIL MITCHELL: Well, they’ve made a change, haven’t they? They’ve got more women and they’ve increased their female representatives significantly when your lot hasn’t?
MELISSA PRICE: Yeah, but I think what is clear to me is that we don’t need women just for women’s sake. We need --
NEIL MITCHELL: Good women.
MELISSA PRICE: – the right women. We need women who are qualified and that can do the job. Because, as you know, it’s not easy, Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL: No, I wouldn’t want to do it myself. Thank you. Melissa Price, federal Minister for Defence Industry in the Morrison government.
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