Australia's former foreign minister says she was mistaken for the spouse of a politician by <a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/melania-trumps-wardrobe-choices-during-africa-trip-stirs-controversy-170144#melania-trump-concluded-her-africa-trip-170130">US First Lady Melania Trump</a>, in her latest comments on the subordinate role of women in conservative politics.

Julie Bishop has been vocal about the treatment of senior female politicians since she stepped down after the ouster of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull last year.

Bishop, who was Australia's first female foreign minister and deputy leader of the Liberal Party, is among several senior politicians from the centre-right government set to quit parliament at upcoming national elections amid expectations of an opposition win.

She told a talk in Adelaide Saturday that Melania thought her partner David Patton was Australia's foreign minister, instead of her, after President Donald Trump stuck up a conversation with him, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

"Melania, standing by, assumed David was the foreign minister and she said to me: 'Julie, will you be coming to my ladies' lunch tomorrow?," Bishop said of the encounter at the UN General Assembly Leaders' week in 2017.

"And I said 'No, David's going to the partners' lunch'. She thought about that for a while, thinking: 'Why would Australia's foreign minister come to the partners' lunch?'

"So this went on for a while until the president explained that I was the foreign minister."

Australia's embattled minority government has been accused of having a "women problem", with Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently boosting the number of female politicians in his cabinet to counter the criticism.

One cabinet minister who is also leaving parliament, Kelly O'Dwyer, reportedly said as a warning in a party meeting several months ago that the Liberals were widely viewed by voters as "homophobic, anti-women, climate-change deniers".&nbsp;

Bishop said she was not comfortable being the only woman among 18 men in cabinet after Turnbull's predecessor Tony Abbott won national elections in 2013.&nbsp;

"This isn't fine. This is not completely normal," she said of the situation.

There have been growing calls for the Liberals to introduce quotas to improve the low levels of female representation in the party.

This is not the first time the issue of sexism has been raised in Australian politics.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard became a torchbearer for women around the world in 2012 with her fiery speech about misogyny in parliament, where she accused Abbott of sexism.

Australia's former foreign minister says she was mistaken for the spouse of a politician by US First Lady Melania Trump, in her latest comments on the subordinate role of women in conservative politics.

Australia's former foreign minister says she was mistaken for the spouse of a politician by US First Lady Melania Trump, in her latest comments on the subordinate role of women in conservative politics. Julie Bishop has been vocal about the treatment of senior female politicians since she stepped down after the ouster of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull last year. Bishop, who was Australia's first female foreign minister and deputy leader of the Liberal Party, is among several senior politicians from the centre-right government set to quit parliament at upcoming national elections amid expectations of an opposition win. She told a talk in Adelaide Saturday that Melania thought her partner David Patton was Australia's foreign minister, instead of her, after President Donald Trump stuck up a conversation with him, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. "Melania, standing by, assumed David was the foreign minister and she said to me: 'Julie, will you be coming to my ladies' lunch tomorrow?," Bishop said of the encounter at the UN General Assembly Leaders' week in 2017. "And I said 'No, David's going to the partners' lunch'. She thought about that for a while, thinking: 'Why would Australia's foreign minister come to the partners' lunch?' "So this went on for a while until the president explained that I was the foreign minister." Australia's embattled minority government has been accused of having a "women problem", with Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently boosting the number of female politicians in his cabinet to counter the criticism. One cabinet minister who is also leaving parliament, Kelly O'Dwyer, reportedly said as a warning in a party meeting several months ago that the Liberals were widely viewed by voters as "homophobic, anti-women, climate-change deniers". Bishop said she was not comfortable being the only woman among 18 men in cabinet after Turnbull's predecessor Tony Abbott won national elections in 2013. "This isn't fine. This is not completely normal," she said of the situation. There have been growing calls for the Liberals to introduce quotas to improve the low levels of female representation in the party. This is not the first time the issue of sexism has been raised in Australian politics. Former prime minister Julia Gillard became a torchbearer for women around the world in 2012 with her fiery speech about misogyny in parliament, where she accused Abbott of sexism.

Melania Trump 'mistook former female Australia foreign minister for partner'

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Sunday criticised <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/watch-trump-tells-frances-first-lady-youre-in-such-good-shapebeautiful-17908" target="_blank">comments </a>by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump on French first lady Brigitte Macron&#39;s appearance.

&quot;You&#39;re in such good shape,&quot; Trump was filmed on Thursday telling her during his first state visit to France.

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US President Donald Trump praised French first lady Brigitte Macron for being in &quot;such good shape&quot; on Thursday during his state visit to France (WION)
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&quot;I wonder if she could say the same of him?&quot; Bishop told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, when asked whether she would be flattered or offended if the comment were directed at her. &quot;I&#39;d be taken aback, I think. It&#39;s a rather interesting comment to make,&quot; she said.

Bishop declined further comment on the Paris remark, but added an unprompted observation on Trump&#39;s use of social media, saying she wouldn&#39;t &quot;run a commentary on his Twitter account&quot;.

&nbsp;

A bad start

The criticism follows an acrimonious January telephone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, when the American hung up after 25 minutes rather than the scheduled hour, according to the Washington Post.

In June, the relationship between the two countries hit the spotlight again, after the release of a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/australian-pm-mocks-trump-over-russian-guy-at-off-the-record-media-party-16861" target="_blank">leaked tape</a> of Turnbull mocking Trump at an off-the-record media event.

But the two leaders &quot;get along great,&quot; Trump had declared in May, following his first-face-to-face meeting with Turnbull.

Julie Bishop said she'd be taken aback by Trump's comments if they were directed at her. She declined to remark on his Twitter account

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Sunday criticised comments by US President Donald Trump on French first lady Brigitte Macron's appearance. "You're in such good shape," Trump was filmed on Thursday telling her during his first state visit to France. US President Donald Trump praised French first lady Brigitte Macron for being in "such good shape" on Thursday during his state visit to France (WION) × "I wonder if she could say the same of him?" Bishop told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, when asked whether she would be flattered or offended if the comment were directed at her. "I'd be taken aback, I think. It's a rather interesting comment to make," she said. Bishop declined further comment on the Paris remark, but added an unprompted observation on Trump's use of social media, saying she wouldn't "run a commentary on his Twitter account". A bad start The criticism follows an acrimonious January telephone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, when the American hung up after 25 minutes rather than the scheduled hour, according to the Washington Post. In June, the relationship between the two countries hit the spotlight again, after the release of a leaked tape of Turnbull mocking Trump at an off-the-record media event. But the two leaders "get along great," Trump had declared in May, following his first-face-to-face meeting with Turnbull.

Australian foreign minister criticises Trump's remark to French first lady

Australia looks set to fill one of two vacancies on the United Nations Human Rights Council following France&#39;s withdrawal from the process, the Herald Sun newspaper said on Saturday, quoting remarks by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

The appointment would be Australia&#39;s first to the powerful body, coming amid criticism of its own human rights record against indigenous people and asylum seekers in offshore detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea&#39;s Manus Island.

&quot;We didn&rsquo;t use our aid budget, we didn&#39;t make promises we couldn&rsquo;t keep,&quot; the paper quoted Bishop as saying on Friday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. &quot;We very much campaigned on our record and how we would act on the Human Rights Council.&quot;

Australia secured 141 written pledges and more than 20 verbal pledges from 192 UN&nbsp;members to back its bid, the paper said.

On Saturday, Bishop&#39;s office said it could not confirm Australia had been guaranteed a spot, but added, &quot;We are looking forward to making a positive contribution,&quot; ahead of October&#39;s announcement of the council&#39;s composition.

The UN&nbsp;has previously criticised Australia&#39;s treatment of its indigenous peoples, with a report from its special rapporteur, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, due in September.

The report, on her 15-day visit in March, reviewed the impact of laws surrounding the government&#39;s 2007 intervention aimed at curbing alcohol abuse, domestic violence and improving the health of indigenous Australians in remote communities.

France&#39;s foreign ministry announced its withdrawal in a statement on Thursday that backed Spain&#39;s bid for the second vacancy.

It would be Australia's first to the powerful body, coming amid criticism of its own human rights record against indigenous people and asylum seekers

Australia looks set to fill one of two vacancies on the United Nations Human Rights Council following France's withdrawal from the process, the Herald Sun newspaper said on Saturday, quoting remarks by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. The appointment would be Australia's first to the powerful body, coming amid criticism of its own human rights record against indigenous people and asylum seekers in offshore detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. "We didn’t use our aid budget, we didn't make promises we couldn’t keep," the paper quoted Bishop as saying on Friday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. "We very much campaigned on our record and how we would act on the Human Rights Council." Australia secured 141 written pledges and more than 20 verbal pledges from 192 UN members to back its bid, the paper said. On Saturday, Bishop's office said it could not confirm Australia had been guaranteed a spot, but added, "We are looking forward to making a positive contribution," ahead of October's announcement of the council's composition. The UN has previously criticised Australia's treatment of its indigenous peoples, with a report from its special rapporteur, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, due in September. The report, on her 15-day visit in March, reviewed the impact of laws surrounding the government's 2007 intervention aimed at curbing alcohol abuse, domestic violence and improving the health of indigenous Australians in remote communities. France's foreign ministry announced its withdrawal in a statement on Thursday that backed Spain's bid for the second vacancy.

Australia set to join UN Human Rights Council: Report

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Melania Trump 'mistook former female Australia foreign minister for partner'

Australian foreign minister criticises Trump's remark to French first lady

Australia set to join UN Human Rights Council: Report