Liberals mull over scars as path forward remains vague
The race to lead the Liberal party has tightened after Shadow Defence spokesman Andrew Hastie ruled himself out.
Hastie confirmed to various media outlets on Monday that he would not be contesting the leadership of the party.
It comes as senior Liberal figures warned that the Conservative Party had plummeted to an all-new low and was facing an “existential crisis”.
Hastie’s decision means the frontrunners to replace Peter Dutton are Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley and Immigration spokesman Dan Tehan.
None have publicly declared a leadership tilt, especially ahead of final seat numbers.
A string of factors is being blamed for Liberal failings after the party recorded its worst election defeat in history.
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Retiring MP Karen Andrews, who was a minister in Scott Morrison’s government, told The Guardian the Coalition had ignored the “warning bell” from the 2022 election.
Instead of making changes after Morrison’s defeat, the party had “locked into the old ways”.
This had left the Coalition facing an “existential crisis”, said Andrews.
“If those with the ability to influence the direction of the party had stood up and voiced their opinion when they had the chance, perhaps the situation would not be so dire now,” she said.
“It’s not too late to rebuild but action should start today.”
MPs and insiders have been left dismayed at how poorly the party performed after internal numbers set an expectation they would go forward, not backwards.
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The Liberals were routed across metropolitan areas, with Peter Dutton becoming the first opposition leader to lose his seat.
Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who lost her pre-selection and blames Angus Taylor – a leadership contender – for his factional dealings, was scathing in her assessment of his role in the defeat.
“I don’t know what he’s been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, no economic narrative,” she told ABC TV.
One Liberal insider noted those coming out of the woodwork to attack Taylor had their own agenda and would try to discredit him to prop up others’ leadership tilts.
While a lack of a coherent economic plan was a common critique within the party, insiders also complained of a presidential-style campaign that involved captain’s calls from Dutton.
Shadow ministers were effectively left in the lurch during the policy decision-making processes, submitting costed policies that were never heard of again, Hughes said.
There was a lot of pre-election work on policies that never saw the light of day, while others, such as a proposed $1200 tax rebate and a decision not to back Labor’s income tax cuts, were made centrally without input from shadow cabinet, a source said.
“People expected their policies to appear at least on the website,” the senior coalition source told AAP.
A short-lived plan to force public servants to work from home also confounded MPs, with instant feedback from the hustings being brutal.
Questions were raised about why the campaign focused so heavily on Dutton if he had popularity problems, instead of the wider team being utilised more effectively.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg called for an end to culture wars “at all costs” and for a focus on economic issues.
NSW Liberal opposition leader Mark Speakman agreed, saying in a thinly veiled jab at Dutton that he “won’t be focused on issues like how many flags I stand in front of”.
“Young people in the street aren’t talking about that. They want to know what we are doing to get them into homes as renters and buyers,” he said.
