The ratio of 17 per cent of Coalition seats occupied by women is lower than under all four terms of the Howard government, which ranged between 19 per cent and 22 per cent, and is at its lowest since Mr Keating won in 1993. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull improved the number of women in cabinet last year but his backbench is suffering. Credit:Andrew Meares Labor has moved closer to fair representation since the 1990s but will only hit its current 40 per cent quota if Cathy O'Toole can wrest the knife-edge Queensland seat of Herbert, which is the last undecided seat of the election. The ALP will have 27 female MPs if Ms O'Toole is not elected, six more than the previous Parliament. Last year's ALP national conference set a target of 50 per cent representation in caucus by 2025.

In the Senate, both major parties are on track to go backwards, with Labor projected to have 11 female senators (a loss of three) and the Coalition six (down from eight). The Prime Minister must be able to command the confidence of the House of Representatives - but that does not mean that he needs a majority. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Australia ranks 54th in the world for representation of women in Parliament, according to International Parliamentary Union data. Afghanistan, Rwanda, Bolivia, New Zealand, Mexico and Ethiopia have a higher representation of women. Groups like the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) and the Labor-aligned Emily's List say more women need to be preselected in winnable seats in Australia. Illustration: Ron Tandberg

The 2016 election saw a number of retiring Liberals, including Bronwyn Bishop, Teresa Gambaro and Sharman Stone, replaced by male candidates but also a number of female Liberals who could not hold on to marginal seats against the swing to Labor. In NSW alone, the Liberal Party lost Fiona Scott (seat of Lindsay), Karen McNamara (Dobell) and Louise Markus - although each were beaten by female Labor candidates. Under Mr Turnbull, who first described himself as a "feminist" in 1988, the Liberal Party has shunned imposing quotas in favour of preselections based on "merit". Mr Turnbull moved to alleviate concerns around female representation in the Abbott cabinet by promoting four women in the latest reshuffle. But Melanie Fernandez of WEL said quotas had proven to be effective in breaking the "boy's club" mentality that dominated the power base inside political parties.

She said Mr Turnbull's acknowledgement that gender inequality contributed to the culture of domestic violence and lack of respect for women in Australia was more reason to seek gender equality in the public sphere. "The lack of women in government seats is particularly shocking and nowhere near good enough from a party that says it is committed to ending gender-inequality that leads to domestic violence," she said. In December, Fairfax Media revealed an internal Liberal Party report acknowledged a "problem with women" and proposed a 10-year program with a target of 50 per cent representation by 2025 to match Labor. Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash said in March that the rural party should adopt a 50 per cent target but leader Barnaby Joyce poured cold water on the idea. "If the terminology of target is I pick someone regardless of their capabilities then I don't like the word target," he said at the time.

Lisa Carey of Emily's List paid tribute to retired Liberal politicians Sharman Stone and Sue Boyce for their outspoken approach to improving female representation but said the conservative side of politics could do with a pressure group like hers to apply more pressure for change. On Wednesday, Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds dismissed calls for quotas as "demeaning" but said there was "clearly a challenge for the Liberal Party" over the next three years to increase the number of female candidates. "In my experience, women make outstanding legislators," she said. Fairfax Media has approached Mr Turnbull and Minister for Women Michaelia Cash for comment.