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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has stood by Senator James Paterson’s speech this week in which he called for the Liberal Party to end its “mass public therapy session” and focus on holding the government to account.
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“James gave a great speech. I commend it to anyone who hasn’t read it yet, and it makes a strong point that we as Liberals are stronger when we stick to our values and support our ambitions,” Ley told ABC News this morning.
“In fact, I’m very proud of all my colleagues for taking this message to Australians that we need to reconnect because as we work on policies, we will always stand behind the values that built this party 81 years ago and they are about freedom, choice, control over your own life, giving people the chance to succeed, taking risks and giving back to society,” he said.
On Tuesday evening, Paterson delivered the Tom Hughes Speech in Sydney, where he warned against turning to Nigel Farage-style populism. He said the party should not shy away from the culture wars, lest the Liberals become “a soulless, hollow party expressing only the narrowest material aspirations of Australians”.
He also described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a “little tyrant” over his crackdown on freedom of information and his proposal to reduce the number of opposition staff.
Opposition Leader Susan Ley. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
“We must seek to understand and incorporate the reasonable concerns of well-intentioned actors on the right who today express dissatisfaction with the direction of the Liberal Party,” Paterson said in his speech.
“Some conservatives are aggrieved that the post-Cold War liberal consensus has undermined the causes they care about. Family. Faith. Nation. Society. Their concerns are genuine. And legitimate.”
