Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop could become prime minister, a Liberal MP has told a private gathering of female ambassadors.
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Sources have told Fairfax Media the Queensland Liberal MP Teresa Gambaro speculated that Ms Bishop could "one day" become Prime Minister, after criticising the number of females in Parliament as too low.
Ms Gambaro made the comments at a private function in Ms Bishop's ministerial suite hosted on Wednesday evening for female ambassdors and high commissioners posted to Canberra.
The Foreign Minister tweeted a photograph of the event, which was attended by several female Liberal MPs including Michelle Landry and Nola Marino.
Pleased to host my female colleagues and Heads of Mission with @TeresaGambaroMP pic.twitter.com/VDwDStbYKg — Julie Bishop (@JulieBishopMP) October 22, 2014
According to sources in the room, Ms Gambaro is reported to have cited former treasurer Peter Costello's prediction that he made at Ms Bishop's campaign launch, when he said the Member for Curtin would never be "just a bishop - certainly a cardinal and perhaps even a pope". She then said some might speculate that Julie Bishop might "one day" become prime minister.
Ms Gambaro also lamented the poor representation of women in Australia's Parliament, saying women had roughtly made up 10 per cent of the Parliament since Federation. Ms Gambaro is reported to have said the numbers told a "sorry tale" and the situation was "abysmal" and the Australian Parliament was hardly an "employer of choice" for women.
But she lauded the Foreign Minister's performance in the job and described her as a "hero" for women and girls looking for role models.
The lack of female representation in the government is a sore point for the Coalition which has only one woman in cabinet - the Foreign Minister.
Recently Prime Minister Tony Abbott's chief of staff Peta Credlin established a network for Coalition female staffers to help them "support each other".
Mr Abbott, who Labor has accused of introducing a more generous and expensive paid parental leave scheme to appease women voters, is due to launch the network next Wednesday.
Julie Bishop will launch a Women in Media Event at the National Press Club on the same day.
