MP Keith Wollahan says Liberals have ‘lost trust’ of Melbourne

One of only two Liberal Melbourne MPs says the party has “lost the trust” of the city, culminating in Saturday’s bloodshed in Aston.

One of only two remaining Melbourne Liberal MPs says the party has “lost the trust” of the city, culminating in the party’s devastating loss in Aston.

Keith Wolahan, who holds the seat of Menzies, said there was no pathway for the Liberals to return to government unless the party “fixed the relationship” with Melbourne.

Earlier, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Liberal Party – especially in Victoria – has “gone back dramatically” since he was “overthrown”.

Their comments come after a grim weekend for the party, with a stunning 6.4 swing against them in the Aston by-election on Saturday and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton plummeting in the opinion polls.

The latest Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, shows the Coalition’s primary vote has plunged two points to 33 per cent nationally.

Colleagues are rallying behind Mr Dutton, who on Saturday called for “patience” amid loudening calls for widespread reform of the party.

Labor’s victory in Aston is the first for a federal government in a by-election since 1920.

Mr Wolahan said there was “no sugar-coating” what happened in Aston.

“That wasn’t a swing I or anyone was expecting … I think that the Liberal Party has lost the trust of the people we need to in Melbourne,” he said.

“We need to re-establish our relationship with Melbourne.

“When you look at the map, there’s now two federal seats – I’m one of them – I’m as close as you get to the city and it’s still a fair distance.

“It will be Australia’s largest city within a decade, but we’ve got to start that task now.”

Peter Dutton is defiant despite plummeting opinion polls and a by-election loss. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Ascui

Mr Turnbull said the party needed to return to the centre if it ever hoped to win back the once-safe Liberal seats like Aston.

“The problem is the party is now in a position where what had hitherto been the crown jewels, the safer seats, most of them are now in the hands of the teals and now they’re losing mortgage belt seats,” he told ABC Radio.

“Which is where we’re told by the right-wing press is where the Liberal Party is going to be more valued if they swing to the right.”

Mr Turnbull voiced scepticism about what one of two Liberals left in metropolitan Melbourne – Jason Wood – said earlier that the party just needed to sell Mr Dutton better.

Mr Wolahan said he thought Mr Dutton did have the capacity to connect with Melbourne, describing him as a “good person and a good leader”.

Mr Dutton has vowed not to stand down but work harder to rebuild the party after the bruising 6.4 per cent swing against the Liberals.

But the Newspoll results indicate his party is struggling well beyond the outer-Melbourne seat vacated by Alan Tudge.

Mr Turnbull said Mr Dutton was being marketed, but by Labor.

“I’m just making the point that to move to the centre would be very difficult for Dutton … You’ve got Dutton out there again on Insiders, essentially rubbishing the move to renewable energy and then raising the furphy of nuclear power. This is all effectively culture war stuff,” Mr Turnbull said.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says his party hasn’t been the same since he was overthrown. Picture: AAP Image/POOL/Mick Tsikasvia NCA NewsWire)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s approval rating rose a point to 56 per cent in the latest Newspoll, while Mr Dutton’s fell two points to 35 per cent.

As preferred prime minister, the story is worse yet for Mr Dutton, who fell two points to just 26 per cent compared with Mr Albanese’s 58 per cent.

Mr Albanese said he was proud of the first 11 months of his tenure and his government would “continue to do what we have done”.

“Which is to be a government focused on delivering … work on solving issues methodically, one that tells Australians what we’re going to do and then sets about doing it,” he told ABC Radio.

“We continue to work in a methodical way through our plan for the future that we took to the election, and we’ll keep our feet on the ground.”

He said the Aston win was a “significant victory” for the Labor Party, but the government “won’t get carried away with this’.

As for the future of the Liberal Party, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the opposition had no contingency plan.

“I think it is very clear there are people who are not happy with his leadership,” she told Channel 7.

“The problem is finding an alternative. When you look at the people on the front bench with him, there is no obvious successor.

“I think if Peter Dutton was to take any message from this historic defeat, it should be that it is possible to be in a position and work co-operatively with the government on the things that matter for the nation.”

Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell lost to Labor’s Mary Doyle. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Ascui

Ms Plibersek said voters wanted Mr Dutton and the party to stand for something and “lay out his vision for Australia” – rather than just voting against the government.

Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said there was a “long way” to the next election but conceded something was happening in Victoria and NSW.

“What we have had in Victoria over a long period of time now, all the way back to Howard, is something there is structurally wrong there and how they are doing business and talking to their membership,” he said.

“You have to be parochial to your membership and what they believe in.”

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie said she wasn’t sure the Liberal Party had the “courage” to take the long, hard look at themselves right now.

“I don’t know what they can do to clean up that mess,” she told Channel 9 on Monday.

“(Their vote) been going down and down for the last nine years. They are in a lot of trouble. If they are going to be that second force in politics and stay in the game, they really have got to go and have a good look at themselves.”

She said the party “obviously” weren’t listening to the voters.

“Stop saying ‘no, no, no’ to everything. That is not helpful,” she said.