Liberals look for answers after Labor by-election win

Dominic Giannini and Maeve Bannister | April 3, 2023

After a big loss in the Aston by-election a Victorian Liberal MP says the party needs to promote Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s achievements to voters rather than keep him hidden.

The Liberals are trying to figure out what went wrong after unexpectedly losing the by-election in the east Melbourne seat despite rising living costs.

The loss of the seat following the retirement of ex-Morrison government minister Alan Tudge was the first time a federal government has won a seat against an opposition party in a by-election since 1920.

Former unionist and breast cancer survivor Mary Doyle won the seat with a 6.5 per cent swing after cutting down Mr Tudge’s double-digit margin at the federal election to 2.8 per cent.

Liberal backbencher Jason Wood, the federal member for La Trobe, said the Aston loss was “devastating” and the party had not done a good job at selling its policies or leader.

Mr Wood said Mr Dutton was not showcased to Aston voters as someone who was tough on crime and passionate about protecting children. 

“I spoke to Peter Dutton and said ‘we need to be out there selling you and our colleagues need to be selling you’,” Mr Wood told ABC RN.

“I don’t think the Liberal Party has been very good at selling what we have achieved …  it’s (about) getting the messaging right to people about the issues they care about.”

Senior coalition figures maintain Mr Dutton’s leadership is safe, despite the historic loss.

But all admit there is work to be done.

Liberal insiders are examining why their messaging about the rising cost of living under Labor failed to cut through to voters in the mortgage-belt seat dominated by families.

Some have blamed a “dirty” and personal campaign run by Labor against Mr Dutton, while others have pointed to voter anger at having to go to the polls for the third time in 10 months, given the by-election was triggered by Mr Tudge’s departure.

Others argue the government is still in a honeymoon period, and that Australians want Labor to succeed, and point to local infighting in the party’s Victorian branch.

Senior Victorian Liberal Jane Hume said despite having a good candidate in former councillor and barrister Roshena Campbell, the party wasn’t able to overcome numerous factors in play in Aston where its margin was wiped out.

“You will never put it down to one thing, otherwise, we would have fixed it,” Senator Hume told AAP.

“There was a confluence of events and timing. Even with a great candidate, we couldn’t overcome that confluence.”