Federal Election Showdown For QUT’s Famous Five
And with three years until the next round of elections, QUT Pathways to Politics for Women program director Professor Vicky Browning said now is the time for women with political aspirations to build an intentional career plan through the program.
“Those three years are going to go very fast,” Professor Browning said. “It takes time to build your network and your base, whether you are going for elected office or into leadership roles in the parties themselves. You need an intentional career plan and you need mentors and that is what this program delivers.”
The five candidates vying for a spot in the 48th Parliament of Australia are:
QUT Pathways to Politics for Women 2022 alumnus Letitia Del Fabbro is a dedicated nurse educator who is campaigning as the Labor candidate in the Queensland electorate of Fadden that stretches across the Gold Coast from the beaches to the cane fields.
“For an urban electorate this is quite a big area and it’s changing,” Ms Del Fabbro said.
“We anticipate 20,000 more electors in this electorate compared to 2022. That’s quite a large population growth.”
The final week of campaigning is all about conversations on the polling booth with many voters not making up their mind until voting day.
“The Pathways program has been a big help; everyone in the course helped us commit to and maintain our tenacity,” Ms Del Fabbro said.
“I really appreciated the networking. It was great to find so many like-minded people and to normalise political ambitions and the importance of being engaged in politics.”
Following the federal election in May, all three levels of government will next go to the polls in 2028, with three more cohorts of QUT Pathways to Politics for Women alumni to enrich the political landscape before then.
Regional and rural participants benefit from sponsored travel and accommodation through the Minderoo Foundation to ensure all women have equal opportunity to participate in the national program which is delivered in Queensland by QUT at its inner-city campus next to Parliament House.
“We have to keep up the momentum for more women in politics,” Ms Del Fabbro said. “We can’t count on it without fighting for it.”
United Nations data released in March shows at the current rate of progress, gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063.
Queensland elected its 100th woman into State Parliament less than six months ago and Professor Browning stressed the importance of support for women with political aspirations from all communities particularly those women who continue to be significantly marginalised on their political journey.
“That’s why this program is so important, it gives all women that step up. They come out of the program confident and resilient. And this is a genuinely non-partisan program, with support from current and former serving politicians across political parties.
“We’ve had alumni go up against each other and they are still friends and still support each other. For a lot of these women, this program is bigger than them, it’s about giving women a chance.
“As educators we can see the impact the program has on these women and how articulate they are and how confident they are as they go out and do fantastic things for their communities.”
Applications for the 2025 QUT Pathways to Politics for Women intake are now open and will close on May 1.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Ms Del Fabbro said. “I encourage women to apply for the program now because it really helps with their leadership style and leadership skills.
“The course will build on their toolkit for establishing themselves as leaders in the community and that then becomes a natural springboard for political aspiration.”
Main image:
Top row: Sophia Li, Maggie Forrest, Danielle Shankey
Bottom row: Kristie Lockhart, Letitia Del Fabbro
https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=199830