Brisbane lawyer Amanda Stoker has been chosen to replace the retiring George Brandis as a Liberal senator for Queensland. Stoker, a 35-year-old barrister, will fill the casual vacancy created by the resignation of Brandis, who has been appointed as Australia’s high commissioner to the UK. But the LNP said Stoker was chosen based on her skills and abilities, not her gender, and that the party didn’t need quotas to fill positions. The LNP president, Gary Spence, said Stoker had been chosen after a rigorous selection process. Kelly O’Dwyer, the minister for women, last week called for the Liberal party to do more to help women become candidates at the federal level.

Source: The Guardian March 11, 2018 00:27 UTC