Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has paid tribute to former federal Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on International Women's Day, but has slammed the public focus on her outfits instead of her accomplishments.
Speaking at a breakfast in Brisbane on Wednesday, Ms Palaszczuk reminded the crowd that Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded to Ms Bishop's resignation by saying: "Her successor will have big shoes to fill, but we all know that Julie had the best shoes in parliament".
"Let me say to each and every one of you here today: It's not the shoes that you stand in, it's what you as an individual stand for," Ms Palaszczuk said, to rousing applause.
"And what we stand for, we must fight for, and when we do so together we are more powerful."
Ms Palaszczuk said Australia was still struggling to promote true equality in politics, with the country falling sharply behind other countries.
"If you count the proportion of women in political life and compare it across 193 countries, Australia was ranked 20th in 2001 ... and last year we were 50th," she said.
"That's not progress, in fact that's going backwards.
"I believe the best person should get the job regardless of gender, but the disproportionate number of men in leadership roles shows that women are not getting a fair go.
"There is no excuse for not having 50 per cent of women in every single level of government across Australia."
