Divided Liberals are losing faith as senior MPs prepare for opposition
UPDATE: MALCOLM Turnbull has appealed for stability in the joint partyroom meeting of Coalition MPs today following an eighth consecutive negative Newspoll and a week of internal infighting.
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Malcolm Turnbull has warned “disunity is death” while appealing for stability in the joint partyroom meeting of Coalition MPs this morning.
The Prime Minister’s appeal to Liberal and National MPs came after the eighth consecutive Newspoll where the Coalition was trailing Labor, and following a week of internal infighting and sabotage.
An MP present described the Mr Turnbull’s temperament as low key, but made the point that the Government needed to unit together.
It follows the Daily Telegraph’s revelation that senior Liberals are preparing for life in opposition, just 100 days into their three-year term.
And despite Canberra’s current political circus, in which Labor is putting the economy at risk by blocking budget measures and the continual grandstanding antics of rogue senators, Liberal MPs are growing resigned to a loss at the next election given the dire state of affairs with warring egos and factions in the Turnbull government.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal discussions among senior Libs have actually begun about political life post-2019, with conversations about who would be opposition leader and deputy leader.
Discussions centre on Peter Dutton, Julie Bishop and Scott Morrison.
In the wake of the eighth straight Newspoll loss for the Coalition, Western Sydney MP Craig Laundy said he was sick of politicians saying polls didn’t matter — they did and the party needed to unite.
“We are obviously at the early stages of our term, we have a long way to go but this should be a reality check for us,” Mr Laundy said.
“We need to come together and work together otherwise we will hand over the treasury benches to the opposition, to the Labor Party.”
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge told The Daily Telegraph voters wanted politicians to stop “squabbling” and to “get on with the job of governing”.
“They don’t want us to be squabbling, they want us to be united and focused on the issues that matter to them,” he said. “Governments always work best when the team is united and it’s not helping anyone when confidential conversations are leaked or deliberate undermining occurs.”
Conservative MPs have accused former Liberal senator-turned-independent Cory Bernardi of leaking details of a post-election plot whereby MPs would carry out former prime minister Tony Abbott’s bidding — a charge Senator Bernardi denies.
It follows Mr Bernardi’s accusation that Mr Abbott leaked the news of his defection from the party.
And Mr Abbott appears intent on taunting the Prime Minister, launching a detailed manifesto late last week on how to stop the “Labor lite” Coalition from facing defeat.
Fresh from calling Mr Abbott sad, Mr Turnbull yesterday accused his predecessor of deliberately damaging the government by giving a critical speech just before the weekend when the Newspoll polling was conducted.
“The election is two years away, at least two years away and what we have seen is, we saw an outburst on Thursday and it had its desired impact on the Newspoll.
It was exactly as predicted and as calculated,” Mr Turnbull said of the Newspoll, which recorded the Coalition’s eighth consecutive loss against Labor.
“As I said, he (Mr Abbott) knew exactly what he was doing and he did it.
“I’m not going to be distracted by that. It’s a fact of life. That’s what’s happened.”
MPs applauded Mr Turnbull for his performance in Question Time when he lambasted Bill Shorten for being a social-climbing sycophant.
But when MPs returned to their electorates, they found Mr Turnbull’s performance did not resonate with voters who saw it as more of the same political squabbling.
Liberal Party member and law student Lachlan Blair said his party had been weak in government and needed to “stop the pot shots, stop the leaks and do something”.
“Malcolm Turnbull needs to show some testicular fortitude and take on the Right of his party,” he said. “They have a responsibility to put politics aside and govern.”
A property asset manager, Darren Wood, 48, who voted for the Liberals at the last election, said politicians “should get on with the main game” of running the country.
“I’m not sure where Abbott actually thinks he’s going with all this,” he said.
“Malcolm is the man for the job. He just needs to be allowed to get on with it.
“But I just switch off because I am so dispirited with it all.”
Retiree George Grossman, who voted Labor last year, described politics as “two kids playing in the sandbox, and neither wants to give way”.
“I want them to stop and do something constructive but that’s politics in this country now — the Labor Party is just as bad,” he said.
FEW FANS OF FEDS’ FIGHT CLUB FARCE
JUST get on with the job.
That was the message coming loud and clear from Harbour City voters who are becoming increasingly sick and tired of the constant bickering in Canberra.
The Daily Telegraph spoke with voters yesterday and found them fed up with politicians who care more about enjoying the privileges of office than serving their constituents.
Waitress Laura Villegas, 27, from Kensington in the seat of Kingsford Smith — currently held by Labor MP Matt Thistlewaite — said internal feuds made policy debate “secondary”.
“With any kind of fighting in the party they are going to lose focus of helping the country,” she said.
In the seat of Macarthur, where Labor’s Dr Mike Freelander is the MP, Campbelltown salesman Brad Scott said it was clear politicians were more concerned about keeping their jobs than doing them. “They are all just in there protecting themselves,” Mr Scott said. “Instead of it being a privilege to be in Parliament representing us they see it as a chance to take advantage of the privileges of Parliament.”
The 40-year-old said he had become so disillusioned with what was happening in Canberra he doesn’t bother reading or watching the news anymore.
“They have done nothing. All the policies Malcolm Turnbull is talking about have come off the back of (Tony) Abbott.
“They need to get on with doing things for us.
“Build some decent infrastructure, not just houses. They need to identify decent infrastructure projects that we need and build them. Like fixing up Appin Rd.”
In Labor MP Julie Owen’s electorate of Parramatta, voters are also feeling tired of the constant blame game.
Businessman and salon owner Charlie Helou, 34, voted for the Liberal Party at the last election and said the time had come for politicians to get on with the job of governing the country.
“I think it’s more like a circus than a soap opera,” Mr Helou said.
“Maybe we should give Mrs Hanson a go — I think she’s better than both of these guys.”
TWIGGY WANTS COMMISSIONER TO CALL OUT POLITICAL LIES
PHILANTHROPIST and mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest is calling for the appointment of a Credibility Commissioner to stop the lies and half-truths in public debate.
“I think we need to effect change,” the Fortescue mining boss told The Daily Telegraph.
He has drafted a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Labor leader Bill Shorten calling for the appointment of the independent commissioner.
His fear is that young Australians are becoming disengaged from the political process and Australia will follow Britain, which voted for Brexit partly through the apathy of younger voters.
“Our youth is becoming cynical and disengaged and increasingly relying on social media,” he said.
“I am writing to the PM and Leader of the Opposition to establish a small but powerful authority to hold all those in public debate accountable for the truthfulness of their statements.
“I have been concerned for some time that Australia is following America, which is a country divided.”
His blunt message to the nation’s politicians is that it is not OK to tell half-truths for their own financial advantage or to get re-elected.
“You (politicians) have the inherent responsibility to act in the interests of the Australian people,” he said.
Mr Forrest said he had selected three of what he claimed were many examples where politicians had only told half the story;
- ENERGY PRICES: “It may be OK to raise energy prices to try and attract no fossil fuel but you also need to say that it will ultimately lead to a lower standard of living until the scheme works.”
- RAISING TAXES: “You may argue to increase taxes but you also need to explain that in the long term this will shrink the economy and lead to great unemployment.”
- REGULATING EMPLOYMENT: “It may be the right thing but you
need to say that this will increase unemployment.”
Mr Forrest said that politicians were motivated by self-interest and told half-truths and “little white lies” to cast themselves in a better, more electable light.
“The problem is that they are chipping away at the credibility of the entire national political process with that one little white lie,” he said.
Mr Forrest conceived the idea of a Credibility Commissioner after an interview with The Daily Telegraph in which he condemned all politicians who blocked corporate tax cuts.
The headline singled out Labor MPs. Mr Forrest said this was only half the story and stressed he had been bipartisan in his criticism.
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