Liberals in Warringah demand change after Tony Abbott loss
As the stoush over who is to blame for the loss of the prized Liberal seat of Warringah continues, a leaked report obtained by The Sunday Telegraph into the campaign suggests what may have gone wrong.
NSW
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Liberal members have told the party it must meet local views on climate change and energy policy and choose a candidate more representative of “local public opinion” if it wants to reclaim the prized seat of Warringah.
A survey of local members conducted in the wake of the loss of the seat by Tony Abbott to independent Zali Steggall has also called for less focus on the political opponent and fewer “cooks” managing the election.
Contained in the leaked draft report 2019 Federal Election Review: The Future Of Warringah, the survey results come amid a week of bloodletting within the Warringah Federal Electorate Conference (FEC) over who to blame for the failed $1.5 million campaign.
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In the firing line are vice presidents Alex Dore and Lee Furlong — who conducted the review — together with president Roger Corbett. A letter signed by 50 local Liberals has called for his scalp.
Mr Corbett told members at a meeting on Wednesday that he had asked the NSW Liberal Party office to investigate the “defamatory” letter, with a source claiming the former Woollies CEO stated he would also consider legal action.
The review, conducted in conjunction with the national inquiry led by former senator Arthur Sinodinos, found that a representative candidate who was able to listen to constituents before tailoring their message accordingly was the most important issue among members.
“A significant number of respondents suggested that a future Liberal candidate for Warringah should be representative of local public opinion, and reflect the community’s desire for change,” the report said.
“Responses to the survey expressed hope that the community’s perspective on sensitive issues, such as climate change and energy policy, could be met.”
While the majority of respondents agreed that the “Vote Zali; Get Shorten” campaign was effective, “many members further suggested that an excessive focus on our opposition could be detrimental to the aims of the upcoming campaign”.
The report said members believed the campaign should instead “highlight the attributes of our own candidate”.
Members also called for an earlier campaign commencement time, declaring there had not been enough time to “alter the course of the race” and “a visit from the prime minister”.
Election promises, local engagement, social media and “sign waving” were among the actions deemed to have been done well in the campaign.
The report noted how Warringah volunteers had made 51,000 calls to voters “but this was one third of the calls made by GetUp”, it said.
Among the recommended actions for the future included “bonding events” for volunteers, regular visits by federal MPs to the seat and reconnecting with lapsed members — 185 out of 900 were “unfinancial”, especially the “low hanging fruit” in Mosman and Manly.
The report also noted the need for fundraising, noting that the absence of a former prime minister as the member would make things more difficult.