Christopher Pyne has taken a battering from fellow Liberals, but who are his strongest detractors?

THE Liberal spat over comments Christopher Pyne made to a “Black Hand” dinner shone a spotlight on just how divided the party is, writes Peter Jean.

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THEY accused him of being a “cancer”, “untrustworthy” and of driving voters away from the Liberal Party.

Christopher Pyne’s week was so bad that those were the comments of people from his own side of the political fence.

After an audio recording of Mr Pyne addressing a group of fellow moderate Liberals was leaked to Advertiser columnist Andrew Bolt, conservative Liberal MPs went on the attack.

One MP anonymously compared the Defence Industry Minister and Sturt MP to a tumour within the Liberal Party.

Former prime minster Tony Abbott accused Mr Pyne of failing to demonstrate the loyalty expected of a Cabinet minister, which was “incredibly disappointing”.

Liberal Senate defector Cory Bernardi, who founded the Australian Conservatives Party, said Mr Pyne was “the most untrustworthy person in the business’’.

Some conservative Liberals are angry at Mr Pyne for suggesting that same-sex marriage could be introduced sooner rather than later and others are unhappy about the amount of money to be spent on Adelaide-centred ship and submarine-building programs under his supervision.

 

Speech that sparked a brawl

Most people sometimes say things to their closest friends that they wouldn’t want other people to hear.

Mr Pyne would have given a very different speech to a group of Liberal moderates at the weekend if he had have known it was being secretly recorded.

Conservatives who used to run the Liberal Party were annoyed by a reference in the speech to the increased influence moderates are now wielding.

Many were also outraged by Mr Pyne’s hint that same-sex marriage might be introduced before the next election without a plebiscite of the people first being held. This would be a breach of the policy the Coalition took the 2016 election. Mr Pyne apologised for the speech, but the party had already been damaged by the public brawl.

 

Man with enemies

“Enemy” might be too strong a word, but Mr Pyne’s strongest public detractors are older, conservative Liberal MPs banished to the backbenches. Mr Abbott is still angry he was dumped from the Liberal leadership and says Mr Pyne behaved disloyally to his Cabinet colleagues by hinting at the weekend that same-sex marriage could be introduced without a plebiscite.

Other conservatives claim Mr Pyne simply isn’t up to the task of selling difficult policies. They were furious when he rebuked Catholic education officials who opposed the Gonski 2.0 schools funding package. They believe that Mr Pyne, himself a church-going Catholic, could alienate Catholic voters in marginal seats. Some conservative MPs have been accused of overreacting to the Black Hand (moderates) speech in the hope that Mr Pyne would be demoted, freeing up the Leader of the House role for leading Right-winger Peter Dutton.

Conservatives have gained the upper hand in the perpetual battle with Mr Pyne’s moderates to control the SA division of the Liberal Party. The two groups are now locked in a battle over the SA Liberal women’s council.

 

Pyne’s friends

The support of Mr Pyne helped Mr Turnbull snatch the keys to The Lodge from Mr Abbott. As Leader of the House, Mr Pyne is the Prime Minister’s chief tactician in the House of Representatives and one of the most important members of the leadership team.

SA Senator Simon Birmingham, who succeeded Mr Pyne as Education Minister, is a close supporter of both the Prime Minister and Mr Pyne.

Mr Pyne prides himself on being the Government’s “fixer”, but Senator Birmingham could soon also lay claim to that title after he stitched up a deal to get Gonski 2.0 passed by the Senate.

Defence Minister Marise Payne, shares a flat in Canberra with Mr Pyne and Senator Birmingham. Like Mr Pyne, Senator Payne was punished early in her career for being a moderate.

 

The Black Hand and the conservatives

The “Black Hand” has its genesis in ideological battles in the Liberal Party which were largely settled in the 1980s and early 1990s. By the time the Howard Government was elected in 1996, conservative forces were in control of the federal Liberals.

Leading conservatives in Cabinet include Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Mr Dutton. Leading moderates include Mr Pyne, Senator Payne and Attorney-General George Brandis. For decades, moderate Liberals have met for “Black Hand” dinners at party conferences.

 

Repercussions for the Minister

Giving in to conservative pressure to demote Mr Pyne could make Mr Turnbull appear weak and unable to stand up to factional leaders.

Like Mr Abbott, Mr Pyne believes politics is his vocation and has no intention of taking a step backwards.

Mr Pyne knows voters want to hear the Government talking about what it’s doing for them — not internal squabbles.

That’s why he might be more careful next time he addresses a Black Hand dinner.