Liberal state president Leah Blyth has attacked the party’s election campaign saying it was fixated on short-term gimmicks

The disastrous Liberal election campaign has been attacked by the party’s state president for failing to offer any credible solution to the nation’s problems.

A “timid” Liberal campaign “fixated on short-term gimmicks and giveaways” has been carpeted by the party’s state president, Senator Leah Blyth, for “neglecting the quiet Australians in the suburbs and regions”.

In a blistering message to Liberal supporters, Senator Blyth said the Liberal campaign “failed to offer any credible long-term solution to our country’s difficulties”.

Senator Blyth urged a fundamental change in approach to regain public confidence to offer Australians “a compelling, principled vision for the nation’s future”, demanding this happen over a full term “not just in the campaign’s final weeks”.

Federal Liberal president John Olsen, also the Adelaide Crows chairman and a former premier, declined to respond to Senator Blyth’s comments.

In an open letter, Senator Blyth said the Liberal campaign “not only failed to inspire voters, it undermined our core credibility as responsible economic managers”.

“From one-off tax offsets to temporary fuel excise cuts, we offered sugar-hit policies aimed at snagging headlines and quick votes, but failed to offer any credible long-term solution to our country’s difficulties,” she said.

“ … We failed to articulate a credible long-term vision. Instead, we relied on hastily rolled out short-term sweeteners – a 12-month fuel excise cut, a one-off income tax refund, first-home buyer perks – as our answers to structural cost-of-living pressures.

“The Australian public is intelligent enough to know that these are not serious policies that will address the underlying challenges our country faces.

“Our party will never win a spending contest with Labor – to even attempt to do so merely undermines our credibility as the natural party of government.”

Senator Leah Blyth said the Liberal campaign “failed to offer any credible long-term solution to our country’s difficulties”. Picture: Supplied

Senator Blyth, who was installed in parliament in February to replace Simon Birmingham, said opposing the Voice referendum resonated with the public because it was grounded in Liberal ideals of equity, fairness and respect for the Constitution.

She said the Liberals must change their approach if they were serious about convincing Australians they could govern well, urging a five-point strategy to return to government in 2028.

Senator Blyth said this involved: campaigning on principle, not opportunism; committing to genuine tax reform; restoring fiscal responsibility; undertaking industrial relations reform; and embracing market-based environmental policy.

The latter involved moving “towards market-driven solutions to climate change and away from the heavy head of government intervention and regulation”.

Mr Olsen will step down as federal Liberal president at the party’s next federal council meeting – a date for which has not been set.

His departure had been predetermined ahead of the campaign, whether the Peter Dutton-led opposition won or lost.

Mr Olsen, the Liberal premier from 1996 to 2001, returned to politics as the party’s state president to oversee the 2018 state election, at which Steven Marshall became premier and ended 16 years of Labor rule.

Originally published as Liberal state president Leah Blyth has attacked the party’s election campaign saying it was fixated on short-term gimmicks