Australia

It’s a historic day for politics and women in Australia – and even more remarkable for one woman minister, who is also Queensland’s first ever Indigenous woman MP.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cabinet marks an Australian first, with a majority of women ministers: eight women (including the premier, who is also arts minister) and six men. And the leadership team of Palaszczuk and her deputy, Jackie Trad, is only the second time two women have led a state government.

Indonesia’s new president Joko Widodo has appointed eight women to his cabinet, vastly outdoing the Australian government when it comes to female representation.

The humble furniture maker-turned president, more accustomed to carving wooden cabinets than those of the political kind, will embark on his reformist agenda with plenty of female input, including from former Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands Retno Marsudi as Foreign Minister.

The latest round of national head-scratching about why there aren't more women in politics makes me want to poke out my own eyes with a rusty toasting fork.

In Australia, we congratulate Nova Peris on being the first indigenous female elected to the federal parliament and wish her success in her Senate journey ahead. Australia now has our first female Foreign Minister. Across the history of 28 Speakers, we now see the third woman appointed to this significant role.

We invite our users to read the full article published September 17 2013

Tony Abbott's cabinet in Canberra is running short on girl power, but it's the sisters who continue to run the show in the Mackay region.

With 18 blokes and only one woman, Mr Abbott's choice of LNP frontbenchers has been heavily criticised for a lack of female representatives.

Mackay Regional Council Mayor Deirdre Comerford said, regardless of the sex, time would be the only way to tell if Mr Abbott's choices were worthy.

Liberal senator Sue Boyce has criticised as ''shocking and embarrassing'' the appointment of only one woman to the new federal cabinet. Only foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop made it into the 19-member cabinet announced by prime minister-elect Tony Abbott on Monday.