Liberal election disaster ‘apology tour’ needs to end
A split between moderates and conservatives will drag the Liberals into “permanent opposition” and make Labor the natural party of government, one of the party’s most senior figures has warned.
Senator James Paterson also argues that the coalition’s “apology tour” should end five months after the massive election loss.
The opposition finance spokesman outlined his vision for the Liberals’ future in a speech in Sydney on Tuesday night and called on colleagues not to “misinterpret” their election losses.
He says it’s time for the party to continue developing serious policies.
“We are absolutely right to be humble after the Liberal Party’s worst defeat in our 81-year history,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.
“But people won’t vote for us in the next election in two and a half years because we spent too much time apologizing for our failures.
“If they are convinced that we are ready to govern and that we have a policy agenda that will solve the problems they face in their lives, they will vote for us.”
Following the party’s disastrous election loss, all Liberal policies are up for review, leading to fierce infighting over the party’s future direction.
In early October, opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie left the front bench over disagreements over climate change and immigration policy.
These two issues are emblematic of a wider divide between MPs who believe the Liberals should move towards the political centre, and those who want the party to pursue a more conservative agenda.
But Senator Paterson warned colleagues against talk of splitting the Liberals into a conservative and more moderate party.
He said the radical step was proposed mainly by people outside parliament and was not in the Liberals’ interests.
“This would be as successful for the Liberal Party today as the split in the Labor Party was for them in the 1950s,” Senator Paterson said.
“This will end with us being in permanent opposition and fulfilling the prime minister’s dream of making Labor the natural party of the federal government.”
Opposition leader Sussan Ley, who will visit Melbourne on Wednesday in a bid to shift the political debate to youth crime, said she welcomed Senator Paterson’s contribution.
“It makes a really strong point that if we support our values and our aspirations, we can meet Australians where they are with a serious, compelling and credible agenda for change,” he told Nine’s Today programme.
Ms Ley said she wanted to build support among Gen Z and Millennial voters, saying their futures were “mortgaged” by the Albanian government.
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