Columnist for The Australian Niki Savva, whom Ms Credlin demanded be sacked for her criticisms of her, might paraphrase that differently.
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“If I was a guy, I wouldn’t be bossy, I would be strong”.
In her last press conference after she lost the prime ministership to Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard was asked about the role of sexism in her time as leader.
But Tony Abbott’s chief of staff will not “kick” the party or new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull “on my way out”.
Helen McCabe, Jesinta Campbell, Peta Credlin and Annabel Crabb on the Women of the Future red carpet.
The evening did not resolve the matter that Peta Credlin’s stories – the one she tells and the one imposed on her – are not universally accepted.
“People say to me “You’re really lucky to have the best job in the country”, and I was like, “There’s no luck involved, I worked my guts out for six years to go from opposition to government”, she said”.
The past 10 years have been tough as a senior woman, Credlin said, as she said a lack of confidence was a major hurdle facing young women.
It was an argument aimed at giving her superior status to all those ministers who might have disagreed with her decisions, not to mention the scores of backbenchers whose individual efforts collectively gained office for Mr Abbott.
A savvy chief of staff – at least in government – does not over-use the iron fist and on the occasions when they do need to bring it into play, they make sure the velvet gloves are on.
“You will want to have women like me sitting in seats of authority and power, whether it’s departments…or writing policy documents or it’s in the media”, she said.
‘She ofcourse is not an elected member but I think she will go on to bigger and brighter things’.
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PETA Credlin has hit back at “unnamed sources” who dogged her final months in Canberra by suggesting cabinet ministers and journalists intimidated by her didn’t deserve their jobs.
