Caleb Bond: The Prime Minister’s own party is flatly denying the memberships of people who share his religion

Liberal members insultingly called to confirm they paid their own fees and joined of their own volition will only come back angrier, writes Caleb Bond.

If conservatives and Christians cannot find a home in the Liberal Party, then where can they find a home?

I must have been wrong to think this country’s foremost conservative party would welcome conservatives among its membership.

That the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party has, en masse, denied the memberships of everyone who applied to join the party in the past month because they are largely Pentecostal Christians – about 150 people – is a disgrace. About 400 more members have been sent “show cause” notices. Basically, they have to justify why they shouldn’t be kicked out of the Liberal Party. They have committed no crime, apart from being Pentecostal Christians.

Ahem: Prime Minister Scott Morrison – a Liberal PM – is a Pentecostal Christian. So the Prime Minister’s own party is flatly denying the memberships of people who share his religion. It is flat out, open religious discrimination.

Imagine if the Liberal Party rejected the memberships of 150 Muslims because it didn’t like the look of their religion?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Adelaide to visit space and defence industries. (LtoR) Federal finance Minister Simon Birmingham, SA Premier Steven Marshall, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Dean Martin

But behind all this is a factional war. Liberal Senator Alex Antic – the sort of conservative the SA branch doesn’t seem to like – has successfully campaigned through largely Pentecostal Christian communities for more to get involved in the Liberal Party.

After all, this Liberal government – the first in nearly two decades, we should not forget – has pursued a number of left-wing agendas that have left many conservatives and business people disappointed and upset.

This government introduced and passed legislation that allows for late-term abortions if having the child might be detrimental to the expectant mother’s mental health. An overwhelming majority of Liberals last week backed euthanasia legislation.

They foolishly took on property investors – from mums and dads, all the way up to shopping-centre owners – by trying to make them pay more land tax.

They were eventually pushed back to the drawing board after realising they had alienated many traditional Liberal voters.

Plenty more publicans and business owners are frustrated with the ongoing state of emergency and coronavirus restrictions that deprive them of 25 per cent of their potential income.

So Mr Antic said to these Christians that, if they don’t like the direction of this government and they are worried about social and societal decay, they should sign up to the party and have their say.

About 500 did.

But the ruling moderate faction, which is often more left wing than many in the Labor Party, soiled their trousers at the thought of – shock horror – conservatives having more of a voice and used the most serious powers of the state executive.

Liberal Senator Alex Antic. Picture: Morgan Sette

Unfortunately for the moderates, they’ve brought a machine gun to a fistfight. When you pull out your biggest weapon as a first resort, you have nowhere to run when it fails.

These people have been asked to sign a statutory ­declaration, which, most ­insultingly, asks they confirm they have paid their own membership fees and are joining of their own volition.

Once they’ve done that, they can rejoin. And many will – except they’ll come back even angrier. What will the state executive of the Liberal Party do then?

The party will try to tell you this is all because some new members have spoken out against endorsed candidates. That’s rubbish. If that were the case, you’d expel those who broke the rules, not 500 people who threaten your factional power.

Sir Robert Menzies established the Liberal Party by amalgamating a multitude of right-of-centre movements to create a “broad church”. This is, seemingly, a rejection of Menzies’ objective.

It is not an exaggeration to say this could split the SA Liberals – which is exactly what they need nine months from an election. Many in the party are upset. There is now talk of legal action.

The SA Liberals have sent a message to conservatives and Christians alike that they are not welcome in the party.

Premier Steven Marshall said this last week: “I just think we should be encouraging as many people to get involved in the political process as possible, so I have no problem with it whatsoever.”

What’s changed, Premier?