– one thinks of Geraldine Ferraro for example. Having had a female Prime
Minister previously here, I asked him why he felt that there is so much less
representation by women in the current government at an executive level – and
the opposition for that matter?
‘There is no figure [currently in Australian politics] that in any way compares
with the impact of Hillary Clinton; Julia Gillard was our great white hope – Julie
Bishop could be, but probably won’t. Circumstances haven’t yet presented the
right candidate. This is simply the luck of the draw. Medicine, law, and other
professions in this country are producing remarkable women leaders – but not
politics as yet.
EXTENDING THE THEME OR THE PARADIGM ISN’T
PARTICULARLY BRAVE... IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE AND
SUCCESSFUL, BUT IT’S NOT COURAGEOUS...
It has taken twenty years of experience for Hillary Clinton to get to this point;
whereas in Australia, there is no longevity. Generally, in politics, those who
“lead” - both men and women – are shooting stars in terms of their time at the
top.’
I mentioned that Australians as a whole have a lot of bravado, which is of course
the opposite of being brave – both professionally and personally. Does he think
that when it comes to our position on the international stage, we tend to bluff
ourselves when it comes to overestimating our importance and significance?
‘Yes I do. We are a self-confident people; some might say deluded. Even though
we are the twelfth largest economy on the planet, this doesn’t give us the
independence we should have, nor the impact we think we have. We tend to be largely erroneously - overly pleased with ourselves.’
I asked him who he felt were genuinely courageous public figures in Australian
society and business.
‘ For me, it’s those men and women who are solid, astute business people - those
whose hands you want on the wheel. Michael Chaney (Chairman of NAB), Gail
Kelly... it’s an incredibly hard job running a corporation with tens, if not hundreds
of thousands of jobs in Australia, and a tremendous responsibility.
10
GLOSS JUNE 2015