‘Deal with the women’s issue or enjoy oblivion’: conservative women on whether they can still call the Liberal party home

Daria Taplin-Buck says meagre policy offerings, a lack of female representation and Peter Dutton’s leadership all turned her off the Liberal party. Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/The Guardian

Until last week’s federal election, Daria Taplin-Buck had always voted Liberal.

The 31-year-old, who moved from Russia to Australia as a teenager, had been a dues-paying member of the Young Liberals for years. During the 2019 election campaign, she could be found door-knocking in Adelaide, and outside a polling booth handing out how-to-vote cards for the Liberal party.