Liberals should relearn how to lead on policy matters

Having learnt nothing from the previous Turnbull and Morrison elections, many commentators conclude that it will be years before the Coalition resurfaces, only after it has adjusted to the left-wing drift in public opinion and has leaders with empathy. Really?

They consider a 34 per cent primary vote, with the Coalition at 32 per cent, indicates a landslide Labor victory and the party will be in office for years. In reality this was a victory based on personal abuse rather than policy.

The opposite opinion of a few such as Janet Albrechtsen (“ ‘Teal-slayer’ with courage to defy the HQ orthodoxy”, 10-11/5) and Gemma Tognini (“Dear Liberals, guess what? It’s not me, it really is you”, 10-11/5) is that the Liberals should lead rather than follow opinion.

When the Liberals articulate their philosophy, as with the voice, something they plainly failed to do in the election, they can emulate the success of other right-wing parties.

Seven European countries, the US and New Zealand show the way and confirm that traditional values are still valued.

Graham Pinn, Maroochydore, Qld

Amid all the angst about the LNP election debacle, it is worth reflecting on how cavalierly the Liberals threw away, in short order, Malcolm Turnbull, Julie Bishop and Julia Banks, and how much more competitive they would now be otherwise.

Sue Lester, Grange, SA

Claire Lehmann nails a home truth about gender laid bare by the recent federal election (“Note to Libs: women are getting more progressive”, 10-11/5). Labor and the teals, in particular, have an advantage in the preponderance of women in their ranks and it is noteworthy that men lost the Greens seats but not women, if the sole remaining Greens lower house seat of Ryan remains in Greens hands. The election brought in a wave of Queensland Labor female MPs including Ali France, who toppled Peter Dutton. Lehmann is right to suggest that for the Liberal Party to remain viable in the long term it must find ways to bring more women into its ranks at all levels.

It is not the first time there has been mention of the Liberal Party having “a woman problem”. A temporary quota of female MPs may be the answer for the federal Liberal Party, as mooted by Lehmann. Another strategy to make the Liberal brand more attractive to women could be to have a woman at the helm of the party. Electing a woman as the leader could well be a game changer for the party.

David Muir, Indooroopilly, Qld

Whether or not Matt Canavan is successful in his bid to displace David Littleproud as Nationals leader at the partyroom meeting, the Nats – and for that matter, the Coalition – should adopt his call to dump its existing policy stance echoing Labor’s fanciful commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 (“Making a stand for country people, jobs”, 10-11/5).

As Chris Uhlmann argues in his opinion piece (“Hell to pay for poverty of leadership”, 10-11/5), we interfere with natural energy systems at our peril, and reconfiguring Australia in vain pursuit of an arbitrary emissions target will only “cost trillions, achieve nothing and impose itself on every aspect of our lives”.

Peter Dutton made the mistake of trying to sell too many policies that differed little from Labor’s, and the only way out of the swamp for the demoralised Coalition now is to plot bold new policy directions and champion them in the months and years ahead.

Peter Austin, Mount Victoria, NSW

Australia is floundering politically. We are seeking solutions in blind alleys. The political pundits are doing the maths on Anthony Albanese’s claimed landslide to reveal it’s only a marginal and reluctant endorsement of the least worst of two leaders equally rejected as not up to the job.

The total election outcome is a belly flop delivered from a mishmash of preferential voting skewed by ineffective Liberal campaigning.

Liberals continue to slide. It’s sad to see Claire Lehmann conceding a female quota fix may stop this media haemorrhage. Sussan Ley could be on her way. The Liberal malaise continues.

The good news on the political scene is that the man who should be a future prime minister, Matt Canavan, may be about to lead the Nationals and drive home the point that net zero is a con.

Betty Cockman, Dongara, WA