Peta Credlin says Malcolm Turnbull has ‘a woman problem’

By now you’ve probably seen or heard some of the criticisms Peta Credlin has offered Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The former chief-of-staff for Tony Abbott has been quite vocal on TV and in the papers about Turnbull, and she’s shown she’s not afraid to speak her in mind.

And she’s done it again today.

In a column for The Daily Telegraph, Credlin has pointed to polling that shows Turnbull is turning female voters away in record numbers.

“For the man who likes to think he’s got the Midas touch when it comes to women, Malcolm Turnbull’s result in the Australian Electoral Study is the worst of any Liberal leader in 30 years,” she writes.

“According to the AES which analyses voter data via a significant survey taken immediately after each federal election, Turnbull’s 2016 result saw the lowest number of women vote Liberal-National since the survey started in 1987.

“In fact, at 35 per cent, his result among women is the only time the Coalition has fallen below 40 per cent over the same period with every other Liberal predecessor at least six percentage points above Turnbull’s result.”

According to Credlin, the polling data puts to rest “the myth” that Abbott was the one who had the “woman problem”.

She points to an issue the Turnbull Government faces with women, and it all comes down to the number of female MPs.

As Credlin writes, of the government’s 76 MPs, only 13 are women.

“If the polling trend continues, it’s likely it will head into opposition at the next election with the number of female lower house MPs in single digits,” she writes.

“With more women in the population than men, more women coming through our schools and universities than ever before, this is an unacceptable reality for any political party claiming to represent mainstream modern Australia.

“The Coalition has a proud record of female achievement but it has fallen dismally behind when it comes to getting women into parliament.”

In her column, Credlin also reveals some advice she gave Abbott about his target to have 50% female MPs by 2025.

She writes that she told him it “meant nothing” unless there were practical measures to make it happen.

“I’m still not sure if the Coalition is serious when it comes to boosting the number of women in parliament,” Credlin writes.

“Maybe the fact that blokes might actually lose their own seats, and government, as female voters desert the Coalition will be enough to shock them into action?

“Let’s hope so because this isn’t just crisis time for women in the Coalition, it’s a crisis for the Coalition itself.”

She’s certainly not holding back!

Do you agree with what Peta Credlin wrote? Are you a woman who isn’t a fan of Malcolm Turnbull?