Liberal soul-searching begins after by-election loss
Maeve Bannister and Dominic Giannini |
The Liberals need to shift back to the political centre and cultivate a more diverse membership if the party wants to rebuild after a shock by-election defeat, key figures say.
On Saturday, the Victorian electorate of Aston became the first opposition seat picked up by a government at a federal by-election since 1920.
Victorian Liberal MP Keith Wolahan – one of only two Liberals to hold a Melbourne metropolitan seat – said the party would not be seen as a credible alternative to Labor until it listened to voters and grassroots members and developed greater self-confidence.
“Our membership is getting older,” he said.
“So we need more younger people, more women, more people from migrant backgrounds to join our party.”
Former union organiser and breast cancer survivor Mary Doyle won the seat of Aston for Labor with a 6.5 per cent swing.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the Liberal Party was losing touch with voters due to increasingly right-wing policies that were driving people away.
He pointed to climate change denial and debate on transgender rights as part of the agenda voters were rejecting, while highlighting current Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s image as a “hard-right culture warrior”.
“All of this craziness has been infecting the party for years, that I used to battle against, and now those chickens are coming home to roost and it is an electoral catastrophe,” he said.
“It’s clear the party has got to move back to the centre. It’s got to get back to where the voters are.”
Liberal moderate Andrew Bragg agreed the party should not engage in fringe cultural issues but said Mr Dutton had a high level of personal credibility and was a strong leader.
“Some of the marginal issues that can sometimes be profiled inside parliament massively detract from our brand,” he said.
“We’re in a reasonable position, but we have to take our own chances now to develop a few policies and sell them to the Australian people.”
Senator Bragg said the party needed policies on the economy, emissions reduction and housing.
Senior Liberal MP Dan Tehan said the opposition needed to cut through the government’s honeymoon period and focus on cost-of-living pressures.
“What we’ve got to be doing is continuing to make the case as to why the government’s policies are wrong,” he said.
Labor has been using the historic win to denounce Mr Dutton’s brand of politics.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians saw the coalition as negative and were rejecting its opposition to everything.
“They opposed every initiative that has been made,” he said.
“They need to reassess their position and make a contribution, be constructive. That’s what Australians expect of the alternative government.”
Mr Wolahan defended his leader, saying Mr Dutton had listened to concerns in the party room and acted on important issues since the last election, including working with the government to pass national anti-corruption commission laws.
Liberal MPs and senators will gather in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss their position on the Indigenous voice referendum and the aftermath of the by-election.
AAP
