Tony Abbott to step down from Advance role when elected Liberal party federal president | Australia news

Tony Abbott will step down from his role as an adviser to right-wing advocacy group Advance as the Conservative ideologue prepares for his high-profile role as the new federal chairman of the Liberal party.

Liberal insiders also share concerns that Abbott is considering Advance director Matthew Sheahan or Steve Doyle, who runs Whitestone Strategic, the consultancy group that supports its operations, to fill the vacant federal director position, warning that this could chip away at what is left of the party’s identity.

Since his ouster by independent MP Zali Steggall at the 2019 federal election, the former prime minister has lent his political nous to a range of right-wing and conservative groups in Australia and around the world.

Abbott has been on Advance’s advisory board since at least January 2023. ABC first reported this relationship.

He also holds appointments or honorary memberships at the Institute of Public Affairs and the Ramsay Center for Western Civilization, as well as board positions at Fox Corporation and the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a UK climate skeptic group.

But his post-parliamentary stint at Advance is expected to end soon, with his formal return to the party machinery in the top “back office” role as federal chairman.

“Mr Abbott has informed us that he will be stepping down from the Advance advisory board once he is elected as the federal leader of the Liberal party,” a spokesperson for Advance told Guardian Australia.

After former foreign secretary Alexander Downer chose to run for one of the vice-presidential positions, Abbott is guaranteed to be the sole candidate for the position.

Guardian Australia contacted Abbott to ask whether he would continue his ties with overseas groups such as the Danube Institute and the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship after he was officially elected on Friday. He did not answer questions.

Advance, the conservative “answer” to the left-wing advocacy group Get Up, has supported right-wing political causes in its campaigns since 2019. Although Advance claims it does not support any particular political party, the Cormack Foundation, the Liberal party’s investment vehicle, donated $500,000 to the group ahead of the 2025 federal election.

Advance’s target in the 2025 federal election was the Greens, but some Liberal-leaning commentators criticized the group’s strategy for inadvertently promoting Labour’s success.

The Advance said in its latest financial report it found that “the Coalition is ill-equipped to contest the election effectively and lacks the modern, sophisticated campaign infrastructure needed to seriously challenge Labor.”

His role as an advisory board member at Abbott’s firebrand lobby group caused consternation among some Liberal members and insiders, who pointed out to Guardian Australia his direct attacks on the Liberals.

“I won’t even call them frenemies; they were actively denigrating the Liberal party,” one of them said.

Another MP said Advance’s attacks on the party, including excluding some of its moderate members, were “hysterical and outrageous”.

“Many of us believe this is just playing into the hands of One Nation,” they said, suggesting that any move by Abbott to push the party further to the right would backfire.

Some in the Liberal party said the former prime minister could surprise many and be a unifying leader, reluctant to publicly outshine opposition leader Angus Taylor.

But others worry that Abbott’s interest in bringing Advance campaigners such as Sheahan and Doyle into the Liberal ranks to replace outgoing director Andrew Hirst will make the party even more unelectable in metropolitan areas at the next federal election.

A third MP said: “[Advance] Do the Advance jobs very well, but these jobs are entering the race. Not for a ruling political party… and it shouldn’t be anywhere near us.

“I worry about this and so do others.

“There’s a lot of tension because if we don’t get a good campaign director who can run a balanced campaign nationally, we could have more conflict.”

Guardian Australia contacted both Sheahan and Doyle to see if they had been contacted about the federal director’s role.

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