Leanne Castley is already party-less but some Liberals want her gone entirely

The Canberra Liberals face internal turmoil after former leader Leanne Castley quit the party, citing a "toxic culture" that included alleged bullying, intimidation, lies, and a threat of physical assault. Castley's departure leaves the territory's opposition with one less member in the ACT Legislative Assembly and without a shadow minister for women.

Castley's successor, Mark Parton, dismissed her claims, characterizing the party's internal discussions as "robust." However, observers with a focus on women in politics see a different narrative. Journalist and academic advocate for gender equity Virginia Haussegger argues that women in politics are consistently held to higher standards than men.

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Here we are again … talking about the need for women to toughen up when it comes to politics. There's absolutely no doubt that we hold women to a higher standard in politics than men and we see this over and over again.

"Here we are again … talking about the need for women to toughen up when it comes to politics," Haussegger told 666 ABC Canberra. "There's absolutely no doubt that we hold women to a higher standard in politics than men and we see this over and over again." She pointed to the example of former federal Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley, who she said was held to standards not applied to men.

Haussegger acknowledged that politics is a "rough game" where both men and women engage in sledging rivals. However, she expressed concern that instances of nastiness are dissuading women with political ambitions, which she described as a "real shame." Meanwhile, former ACT chief minister Gary Humphries called Castley's move to the crossbench an "act of betrayal" to her voters, who he believes elected her as a Liberal.

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Leanne Castley won her seat because she was a Liberal and now … to carry that seat off to the crossbench, I think is an act of betrayal to the people who voted for her because she was a Liberal.