Australian Labor party appoints 11 women to front bench

Australia’s new Labor chief Bill Shorten on Monday appointed 11 women to his front bench, including his deputy, describing Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s inclusion of just one as “ridiculous”.

Shorten, who won a vote to become opposition leader on Sunday, also cautioned Abbott against playing “political games” by threatening fresh elections next year over a deadlock on climate change policy.

The former union chief unveiled a new 30-person cabinet including ex-health minister Tanya Plibersek as his deputy, ex-finance minister Penny Wong as Senate leader and nine other women – a balance he described as “particularly pleasing”.

Labor delivered Australia its first female premier, Julia Gillard, in a leadership coup in 2010. She was prime minister until being ousted in June by her predecessor Kevin Rudd who went on to lose last month’s elections to Abbott.

Gillard congratulated Plibersek, the daughter of Slovenian migrants, on her promotion, paying tribute to her “achievement and vision, wit and warmth” on Twitter.

A public debate over sexism raged during Gillard’s time in office and it was revived after the election when Abbott appointed just one woman to cabinet – Foreign Minister Julie Bishop – and made himself the minister for women.

“We are on track in Labor to have more women lined up in positions of influence in the shadow executive of Australia than has been seen either in a government or indeed in an opposition ever,” said Shorten.