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Clinton a counter-punch to ISIL: Gillard

Electing Hillary Clinton as US president would send a powerful message to Islamic extremists that mistreating women is wrong, former prime minister Julia Gillard says.

The former US secretary of state has not yet formally announced her candidacy for president in the 2016 elections but is thinking about it.

Ms Gillard will "loudly barrack from the sidelines" if the former first lady runs for office.

She said it would not only be important for the US but have a "huge global impact", particularly in the context of the rise of Islamic State, also known as ISIL, in Iraq and Syria.

"Of the things that are being fought over in this security situation, pivotal to them is women's rights and women's roles," Ms Gillard told AAP.

"ISIL is a philosophy that has at its core the subjugation of women.

"So to be able, in the world in which we live today with those security challenges, to see a great democracy elect a woman to lead it would be a real statement.

"(ISIL's philosophy) is anathema to everything I believe in and it's anathema to everything Hillary stands for."

Ms Gillard, who is promoting her memoir My Story, had no criticism of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's approach to tackling ISIL.

She said if there was a Labor prime minister in The Lodge they would have taken the same approach.

Bipartisanship was important when it came to national security issues and the government was blessed by having high-quality advice from its security agencies and defence force.

She said it was important all Australians worked at building a peaceful multicultural country.