The rise of anti-Abbott groups in Warringah spells trouble for the former prime minister

The former PM is facing a war on many fronts with his own party and his electorate’s local residents rising up against him.

After 24 years as the local member for Warringah, Tony Abbott probably thought his departure would be at a time of his own choosing.

At one point his position seemed unassailable, with his primary vote reaching 60 per cent in 2013 when he was leader of the Liberal party and became prime minister.

But after the bloody ousting of former prime ministerial rival Malcolm Turnbull, votes on same-sex marriage and his blocking of energy policy, the electorate has seen how Mr Abbott does business and they don’t like what they see.

Combined with the shock swing in the Wentworth by-election that saw independent Dr Kerryn Phelps claim a blue-ribbon Liberal seat, disgruntled locals are suddenly realising the impossible is now possible.

The level of anger and support for change in Warringah has shocked even organisers of several groups that have emerged to campaign against Mr Abbott.

Louise Hislop is convener of Voices of Warringah and has lived in Warringah her entire life — she is a third generation northern beaches resident. She told news.com.au that she has never seen this level of engagement in politics.

“We’re a pretty relaxed community here and I think people have just been expecting politicians are doing their jobs properly,” Ms Hislop said.

But she said the fact that more than 700 people turned up to a GetUp meeting in Manly on Tuesday night — more than five months out from an election — was “extraordinary”.

“There’s never been anything like this in Warringah, even on election day it’s not like this,” she said. “People have been so disengaged in the past.”

Anti-Abbott protests have been dispensed with fairly painlessly in previous years but sentiment appears to have changed, especially after the toppling of Mr Turnbull.

RELATED: How Warringah voters feel about Tony Abbott

More than 700 people turned up to the Manly Seniors Centre on November 21 for a GetUp event against Tony Abbott's re-election. Source: GetUp

Ms Hislop said the same-sex marriage plebiscite and Wentworth by-election result had woken people up.

“It’s got to the point where people are saying enough is enough,” she said.

Voices of Warringah was launched in October and is modelled on the Voices for Indi campaign that saw Cathy McGowan take the rural Victorian seat from Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella.

Ms Hislop acknowledged that part of the group’s aim was to create a groundswell for change in Warringah to encourage an independent candidate to stand against Mr Abbott because “if people see there is a movement they are more likely to put their hand up”.

But she said it wasn’t purely about getting rid of Mr Abbott, it was also about electing someone who would represent the community’s views.

“Many feel he’s not representative of us, that’s part of it. We’ve tried to get him to engage on issues like climate change, but he’s become less representative of what we want. We’ve also tried on same-sex marriage and the ABC.”

In December Mr Abbott refused to vote for same-sex marriage in parliament even after 75 per cent of Warringah residents voted Yes. He also wants to abandon the Paris Agreement even though a ReachTEL vote conducted in Warringah in July found 59 per cent of respondents wanted Australia to remain and 48 per cent wanted the emissions target increased.

The “anyone but Abbott” sentiment appears to be uniting people of all ages and across political views. One of the most interesting developments is that support is also coming from Liberal supporters, people who have never voted for anyone else but Abbott.

Tony Abbott chose to leave the chamber rather than vote for same-sex marriage. Picture: Kym Smith

Ms Hislop said she knew seniors who had voted Liberal all their lives and were not happy that Malcolm Turnbull wasn’t given the chance to do what he wanted to do, especially on renewables and climate change.

“It’s clear our local elected member stopped him from following his policies through and people are very angry about it,” she said.

There also appears to be anger at Mr Abbott from those within his own local Liberal branch, with reports he faced a heated preselection battle in September.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, young people are supporting Think Twice Warringah, an Instagram account that documents anti-Abbott posters being plastered around the electorate.

The group was only formed about six weeks ago but one of the organisers, Daniel, 26, said there had been an “insane” response.

Initially volunteers had mainly been putting up posters at night but Daniel told news.com.au they were no longer hiding as the response had been so inspiring.

After putting up posters in one park, Daniel said he watched two teenagers stop to take photos and get into a conversation with two older ladies who were also walking past.

“This is what it’s all about — starting conversations — it brought together people from two different demographics,” he said.

From Daniel’s perspective, he believes the same-sex marriage vote was an important tipping point for Mr Abbott.

“He denied us a conscience vote and then voted with his conscience anyway many years later,” he said. “He’s just a wrecker on many fronts and everyone’s ready for change.”

Daniel said his group had grown from about seven volunteers, to about 25 who were now putting up posters across the electorate. He has also received generous offers from people both in and out of the electorate to help with the campaign.

“Abbott holds Warringah with a 11 per cent margin, the Wentworth margin was 17 per cent, I don’t think it’s too much to ask and I think he’s got a fight on his hands,” he said.

But Daniel does not underestimate Mr Abbott and how much power and fight he still has in him. He believes finding the right independent candidate to stand in Warringah will be crucial and Think Twice Warringah is now working with other groups like Voices of Warringah, Vote

Tony Out and People of Warringah to co-ordinate their efforts and get behind one candidate.

Even without a candidate, the campaigns are already attracting many high-profile supporters.

The Instagram page Vote Tony Out was only launched Monday but is already being followed by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. The first picture it posted was of Layne Beachley wearing a Time’s Up Tony T-shirt, accompanied by a post that said it was “time to let go of the past”.

Manly resident Mark Kelly said he started the Instagram account and the Facebook page Let’s not re-elect Tony Abbott to allow people to vent about Mr Abbott.

He told news.com.au he had hundreds more people who wanted to be featured. He said the views of people in Warringah had changed a lot and the electorate’s residents were getting a lot younger.

“It’s more progressive than it was 10 years ago,” he said. “I think the average age is now about 38 years old.”

But even among conservatives, Mr Kelly believes there is disillusionment that Mr Abbott appears to have wrecked the Liberal party, making it more conservative and taking it further away from the “small l” liberal party it was before.

“I think that’s where the swing will come from, that will end up unseating him,” he said.

In order to become a member of the Facebook page, people are asked what their main issue is with Mr Abbott. Mr Kelly said some had a long list of grievances, others said climate change or that he operates against democracy.

“There’s not just one thing, but what tops it off is just the way he operates,” Mr Kelly said. “He tends to be a bully and uses bullies like (radio hosts) Alan Jones and Ray Hadley to help him do his dirty work. People are just sick of it and I think they can see through it all.”

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