Liberals push for ‘discipline’ after party rebrand call
Senior Liberals have rejected a frontline member call for the party to rebrand in the face of growing support for One Nation, with the opposition leader urging members to remain disciplined.
Opposition NDIS spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh weighed in on his comments on Monday and called for an overhaul of the Liberal Party.
While several of its colleagues rejected the proposal, Labor used the disagreement to attack the opposition as divided.
Ms McIntosh, who admitted to being outspoken, said she wanted to see her party’s policies resonate with voters.
“We’re right in the heart of Australia,” he told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.
“When the Australian heartland tells you you need to make more cuts to get more voters on your side, then you should listen to the people.”
Speaking in the joint party hall on Tuesday, Angus Taylor stressed the importance of the coalition being “very disciplined” in getting this message to voters, especially during the five-week winter break.
Deputy leader Jane Hume also supported this message, telling her party “we must be relentlessly disciplined” and spoke about issues affecting voters.
Frontrunner Michaelia Cash said there was some time until the next federal election and there was no need for revision.
“Australians don’t want us to rebrand; they want us to change the country, which is actually going backwards under Larissa Waters, the Australian Greens and Anthony Albanese,” he told Nine’s Today.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien said he was not recommending rebranding the party.
“We need to share more with the Australian people the fact that only the Liberal Party will look after families in Australia,” he said.
“We need to continue these messages.”
During a particularly rowdy Question Time, Liberal MP Garth Hamilton was suspended from parliament for 24 hours after swearing and walking out of the chamber.
Responding to Labour’s attack on Mr Taylor’s comments about bushfire management, Mr Hamilton, a former volunteer firefighter, slammed his desk drawer shut and shouted “crap”.
Speaker Milton Dick described the incident as “a new low”, but Mr Hamilton was unrepentant and said the government’s attacks on Mr Taylor were “empty politics”.
While Pauline Hanson’s party has grown in popularity, the coalition, which at one point received higher votes than Labor, has not ruled out a potential preference deal in the election.
But a more recent poll shows that the One Nation leader’s personal approval ratings fell after his first National Press Club speech in early June.
Mr Taylor has failed to reverse the tough poll after ousting Sussan Ley in February; The coalition’s primary vote fell to a record low of 17 percent in the latest News poll.
Labor has 33 per cent, followed by One Nation with 29 per cent.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Liberal Party had already been rebranded.
“It’s over. It’s called One Nation,” he told reporters.
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