On Monday, the former defence minister published a statement on her Facebook page declaring she would “not be nominating as a candidate for another term as a Liberal Senator for Western Australia.”

“For forty years I have proudly served my nation in the Army, in the Liberal Party, in defence industry, in Parliament and in Government,” she explained. “In my career after the Senate, I will continue to serve, but in new ways.”

Reynolds was elected to the Senate for Western Australia in 2014, and re-elected in 2016 and 2019. Prior to that, she’d spent more than a decade holding vice-president and treasury positions at various local WA Liberal Party divisions. 

Her first cabinet role came in mid-2019, serving under the Morrison government as Minister for Defence Industry. Over the next several years, she would serve in other portfolios, including Minister for Emergency Management, Minister for Government Services, Minister for Defence and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. 

In her ‘Statement on Preselection’ published yesterday, Reynolds described her years serving in cabinet as “some of the most challenging times in our Nation’s recent history.”

She noted that being preselected and elected to the Senate was “a great honour and a privilege few Australians are afforded.”

“This is my tenth year in the Senate and my passion and commitment to my State and to my Nation remains as strong as ever.”

She went on to say it was “rare” for her to be in a position “to choose the time and circumstances of your departure,” and that her decision to leave politics was made “after considerable reflection of what is behind me and the opportunities that are now ahead of me.”

“Just as the health of our democracy can never be taken for granted, neither can the health of political parties – both must be constantly renewed and strengthened. I joined the Liberal Party over 35 years ago and my respect for, and belief in, the principles and values it was established on have only deepened over time.”

Addressing her party directly, she said that she “owe[s] the Liberal Party so much” and that she was “very grateful for the lifelong friendships I have made in the Party and for the overwhelming support I continue to receive from WA Liberal Party members and volunteers who have helped me over the last decade.”

In 2021, when she was Defence Minister, Reynolds faced intense scrutiny after former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was sexually assaulted by then colleague Bruce Lehrmann in Reynolds’ ministerial office. Higgins was working as a media advisor to Senator Reynolds at the time. When she told Reynolds about the rape, Reynolds was horrified, according to Higgins, and asked her if she intended to go to the police.

“She said, ‘If you choose to go to the police we will support you in that process, but we just need to know ahead of time. We need to know now’,” Higgins told news.com.au.

Lehrmann has continued to deny the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the alleged rape of Higgins.

In 2021, Reynolds publicly apologised to Higgins for calling her “a lying cow” in February of that year and agreed to cover the legal costs.

“[I] did not mean it in the sense it may have been understood,” she wrote in a statement posted on her socials. “Given that the comment was made public, which I never intended, I also want to retract it and unreservedly apologise to Brittany Higgins and acknowledge the hurt and distress it caused to her.” 

Reynolds also promised to make a donation to a sexual assault charity as part of a confidential settlement with her. 

A criminal trial of Bruce Lehrmann on one charge of sexual assault in 2022 was derailed in the ACT Supreme Court following juror misconduct. A second trial was aborted by prosecutors after concerns were raised for Higgins’ mental health.

In late 2022, lawyers for Higgins were reported to be preparing to bring a civil claim against Reynolds and former Attorney-General Michaelia Cash for sexual harassment, discrimination, disability discrimination, negligence and victimisation.

In December, Higgins reached a settlement with the Commonwealth, with “the parties [agreeing] that the terms of the settlement are confidential.” 

In January last year, Reynolds launched a defamation case against Higgins and her fiance, David Sharaz, over tweets her lawyers said caused damage that were “inaccurate and professionally damaging” and that “cannot be underestimated.”

Months later, Reynolds sent a defamation concerns notice to Tanya Plibersek following an interview on Sunrise where Plibersek claimed that the crime to which Higgins was subject to “had been inappropriately investigated, even covered up by her employers.”

Reynolds told Plibersek she could “make amends” and avoid legal action by issuing a signed apology, withdrawing her comments, paying Reynolds’ legal costs and providing an “appropriate sum to compensate my client for the damage caused by the publication” within 28 days.

Reynolds’ statement yesterday did not mention anything pertaining to Higgins or these cases. She did however insist that she would “keep working” with her party to “diversify and strengthen” it. 

“Having achieved more than I set out to when I entered the Senate, there is no perfect time to leave politics, but this is the right time for me and for the WA Liberal Party to provide my successor with the same opportunities it has given me,” she concluded. 

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Simon Birmingham applauded Reynolds’ “distinguished career” in both parliament and the military. 

“From her service in the Australian Army to her tenure as a Liberal Senator for Western Australia, Linda has been a steadfast champion for our nation’s defence, national security, and the advancement of Australia,” he said in a statement.

“Linda’s strength, courage and dignity have been remarked upon by many. I have no doubt that in the years ahead Linda will continue to unwaveringly serve her community and our nation.”

Liberal MP Melissa Price commented on Reynolds’ Facebook post, saying, “Thank you for your service to the party and Senate Linda, although I have no doubt that you will find other avenues to contribute to our great nation. My friend, you will be missed.”

Reynolds will remain in the Senate until her term ends in June 2025.

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She will replace the outgoing Julie-Ann Guivarra, who was Australia’s first Indigenous woman to become an Australian Ambassador in an appointment made on International Women’s Day in 2020.

Clarke has served as Head of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office at the Australian Defence Force, the director of the Navy People Policy at Royal Australian Navy, director of the Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Fund, and commanding officer of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest operational base on the Eastern seaboard, HMAS Kuttabul. 

“This was a career in which I was privileged to work with and lead the amazing women and men of the ADF and the Defence organisation with strength founded in humanity and compassion,” Clarke wrote in a statement, published on LinkedIn. 

“I am grateful for the many experts who have graciously shared their knowledge in this important field and I will continue to learn from my expanding network of colleagues in the pursuit of enhancing gender equality and empowerment of women and girls by keeping this as a central focus in Australia’s diplomatic, development, and regional security efforts.” 

Minister for Women and Foreign Affairs Senator Marise Payne announced the appointment last night, noting Clarke’s capabilities in ensuring gender equality, and empowerment of women and girls is a central focus of Australia’s diplomatic, development, and regional security efforts. 

“Promoting gender equality, the rights of women and girls, is a priority for Australia,” the Minister wrote in her statement.

“Gender equality transforms economies and is a human right. In the shadow of the impact of the pandemic, active and sustained leadership on gender equality is more important than ever.” 

“The Ambassador raises the importance of addressing sexual and gender-based violence, increasing economic opportunities for women, promoting women’s leadership, the critical importance of promoting positive social norms and the rights of girls.”

Payne also thanked Julie-Ann Guivarra for her contributions in the role.

Clarke said she will “apply my personal framework” for addressing some of the challenges and opportunities the role will present.

“We need to ensure that gains are not lost; that we are making space for women to step into leadership roles; and that women are ready, willing and able to take their place where decisions are made.” 

She will now step down from her latest role as Defence Adviser and Attache to New Zealand, Cook Islands and Chile. 

“I look back on my 3 years in New Zealand with a sense of pride on what we achieved,” she wrote. “Many friends started out as work colleagues and our shared passion and values cemented our friendship for evermore. Not enough of us get to work in our place of passion, daily living to, and demonstrating, the values we hold dear.” 

“Changing attitudes, influencing policy, influencing behaviours and communicating across cultures and nations requires a special combination of skills.”

“I look forward to sharing the important work we will be doing in the region and invite you all to join us in making a positive contribution to our collective future.”

In 2013, Clarke was awarded her CSC (Conspicuous Service Cross) by then Governor of NSW Marie Bashir.

The post Christine Clarke CSC will be Australia’s next Ambassador for Women and Girls appeared first on Women's Agenda.

In recent years, Australia has put an emphasis on bringing more women into its defence, foreign affairs and diplomacy ranks. But a new global index shows the country still has work to do to improve gender equality and promote women in security.

The recently released #SHEcurity Index measures women’s participation and representation in politics, diplomacy, military, police, international missions, and security, comparing data from more than 100 countries. It also discusses the inclusion of LGBT+ communities and people of colour.

Australia only features in the top 10 on one list. This is in the number of women in foreign affairs committees of national parliament – Australia has 50% of female representation (ranking seventh globally), albeit with a male chair.

This is a step in the right direction, but the representation of Australian women across other portfolios varies. The Lowy Institute finds women make up only a third of senior management in Australia’s intelligence agencies and the foreign affairs and defence departments.

By comparison, women make up two-thirds of foreign affairs committees in New Zealand’s parliament, with a female chair. New Zealand is also in the top ten countries in the #SHEcurity Index on number of female ambassadors.

In other fields, it’s hard to gauge how Australia compares with the rest of the world due to lack of data.

Australia provided most of the requested data to the first #SHEcurity index in 2019, but didn’t provide statistics in 2020 for many areas, including ambassadors, diplomatic services, foreign ministry staff, military, and police.

Australia’s commitment to women in defence and security

Statistics compiled by other organisations show that Australia has made progress in some areas, but not others.

At the highest level, Australia has made some major achievements in the past decade. After Julia Gillard became the country’s first female prime minister in 2010, Julie Bishop was named the first female foreign minister in 2013 and Marise Payne followed as the first female defence minister in 2015.

The Morrison government maintained this positive trend by appointing Payne to succeed Bishop as foreign minister, with Linda Reynolds now defence minister.

In April, Australia also renewed its commitment to support women in conflict and disaster zones with a new national action plan on women, peace and security. To enable this, Australia has pledged to increase the participation and leadership of women in the security and foreign policy sectors. However, no targets were set and no budget defined.

Data compiled by the Lowy Institute shows the number of women in the Australian diplomatic workforce has been steadily increasing since 2016. In 2021, 49 of the 118 Australian heads of mission abroad (such as ambassadors, consuls-general and high commissioners) are women, representing 40% of overall appointments.

The number of women in the military has also gone up, but hasn’t reached similar figures. The defence annual report for 2020-21 shows that women comprise just 19% of the Australian Defence Force and represent only 31 of 171 star-ranked officers.

A recent study by the Australian Civil-Military Centre reveals a consensus among women in the ADF about the need to create more opportunities for women to achieve career progression and ultimately rise to senior positions.

Australia is tracking better than other countries in this regard. According to the #SHEcurity Index, the ratio of women’s representation in militaries globally is at just 11.4%. Yet, the index estimates it will still take more than 50 years for Australia to reach gender equality in its military ranks.

The value of women’s participation

The benefits of increasing the numbers of women in foreign policy and security cannot be overstated.

Gender equality is not just about organisational balance and diversity in the workforce. The presence of women in traditionally male-dominated spheres, such as diplomacy and defence, can change leadership styles that prioritise force and aggression. It can also challenge organisational cultures that objectify women.

The inclusion of women also improves results. The representation of women in peace negotiations, for instance, has been shown to improve the durability of peace agreements after civil wars. Female soldiers are also needed in modern conflicts in which civilian women are increasingly targeted.

But to truly reap the benefits of gender equality in foreign policy and security, we must move beyond a focus on women’s participation alone.

We must also address the factors that prevent their full engagement and progression to positions of power. This includes confronting entrenched sexism in these sectors, including deficiencies in the promotion process for women, a lack of female mentors, and the disproportionate impact of child care on women.

We must also develop a stronger understanding of what security means for women of diverse races, sexualities and abilities, both domestically and abroad.

This involves addressing the root causes of conflict and non-traditional security threats, such as climate disasters, which disproportionately affect women and girls, and how to help women and girls recover from these crises.

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“I would encourage any woman, regardless of what industry they are working in, to give themselves permission to have a crack at new things and to try and remove the pressure of success or failure as we often learn the most from our failures,” she tells Women’s Agenda.

“They [failures] tend to embed very deeply, and we remember the learnings for a really long time.”

Jewell survived the conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah fighters in 2006 when, sadly, her UN peacekeeping teammates did not.

Jewell is now an in-demand keynote speaker and there are plans for her story to be made into a feature film, with movie-producers suggesting casting either Charlize Theron or Margot Robbie to play her.

Of course, I didn’t know any of this until the start of this school year. My daughter’s first day of kindergarten ended with her excitedly telling me that one of her new BFFs has a mum who is a hero.

Now like most mums I like to think of myself as hero, as should any multi-tasking woman juggling numerous demands to get through the day, but Jewell is something else. She is an inspirational change agent and thought leader whose experiences and lessons on leading through change and building resilient teams are shaping organisations across the country and around the world.

In our interview, which I made sure I was slightly early for only to have her beat me to our location, she tells me that her hope for our daughters and younger generations of women is that “things will be very different when they are in the workforce and they will hopefully be saying, ‘You know, I don’t know what this fuss around gender equality and feminism is all about’.”

Jewell opens up about her career: “I joined the army when I was 17 and I left the Byron Bay hinterland and headed off to Canberra to complete my university studies at the Australia Defence Force Academy,” she says. “I really wanted to help people in disadvantaged communities and focus on that humanitarian aid aspect.”

But her military career was tragically cut short during the Lebanon War where she sustained permanent injuries in an armoured vehicle while commanding a convoy of UN peacekeepers under fire through southern Lebanon.

After years of rebuilding herself physically and emotionally, she is now one of the top female leadership speakers and facilitators in Australia, which is something she’d like to see more women do.

“On the speaking circuit, there’s not so many women sharing their valuable experiences and the ones that are, are not necessarily speaking in the leadership category. We are starting to see events criticised for not having more female input and I would love to see more women out there as industry leaders and speakers.”

Her book, Caught in the Crossfire, which she was given just a 90 day deadline to write, takes readers on a journey into the highs and very low points of her life. It shares how she met her future husband just months before taking up that post as a UN peacekeeper in Syria and Lebanon, and sees Jewell open up about the tragic deaths of her teammates and how she suffered through years of unanswered pain.

She’s been to hell and back.

When Jewell was first asked to speak at events about seven years ago, she thought it would last only three weeks or so following a special two-part television program by the ABC’s Australian Story.

But now her business as a speaker on leadership, resilience and change is continuing to grow and expand into online leadership programs and corporate partnerships in Brand Ambassador roles.

It’s not surprising that she was recently named by the Australian Financial Review as one of the top 100 women of influence for 2018.

Matina Jewell’s trailblazing military career, where she completed a number of firsts for women in the Army, including fast roping from helicopters, qualifying as a Navy Diver and working with the US Navy Seals, helped pave the way for greater gender equality in the Australian military today.

“There is a movement happening now that is hopefully making a difference in terms of giving more women a voice and creating equal opportunities around pay.

“This was one of the things I took for granted with the military where there is equal pay and there has been a whole lot of benefits for Defence women that I hadn’t fully appreciated until I started working with a number of different industries and hearing some of the challenges from women in senior corporate roles,” she says.

Jewell says the answer to getting equality requires bringing men to the table as well. “We are not going to get the result and solutions we want as women alone. We need to get men involved with open dialogue that will help gain equality and respect, and I think we are starting to get there now,” she says.

For more from Matina Jewell, check out this 2015 Q&A we published with her following the launch of her memoir. 

The post Matina Jewell’s survived war zones with a story that could soon become a feature film. Here’s why she wants you to live fearlessly appeared first on Women's Agenda.