Libs must renew Menzies’ ‘forgotten people’principles

The Liberal Party today stands at a crossroads, struggling to define itself amid shifting political winds and cultural confusion.

It would do well to look back to the founding principles so eloquently set out by Robert Menzies in his 1942 address, The Forgotten People. Those “forgotten people” were the nation’s backbone, yet their virtues – personal responsibility, thrift, family, and community service – are rarely celebrated in modern politics.

Too often, the Liberal Party has drifted into technocratic management or timid imitation of Labor’s agenda, losing sight of the moral purpose that once distinguished it. Reconnecting with Menzies’ vision would remind the party that freedom is not mere licence, but the chance for individuals to shape their own destiny within a cohesive society.

Reviving these principles is not nostalgia – it is renewal. In an age of bureaucracy and grievance, Australians hunger for leadership that respects ordinary citizens and trusts them to make their own way. Menzies’ message was not just political – it was cultural and moral, rooted in respect for the dignity of work, the sanctity of the home, and faith in voluntary effort over state dependence.

If the Liberal Party wishes to regain its soul – and the trust of middle Australia – it must once again stand for the “forgotten people” Menzies so clearly saw. That vision built a movement and a nation. It could do so again.

GR Horsell, Croydon, SA

Presumably, it was newly elected Liberal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley who decided to take about a year to review and decide future policy. In itself this was a political misstep and mea culpa.

It’s proving to be an unnecessary and incorrect affirmation of policy default, requiring modernisation to bow down to Labor-lite. This is now being enacted to the detriment of good government. Net zero is the wrestling ring and the prospect of more of it is pathetically bad for this broke nation unable to battery-power AI, as well as the lights.

Both Labor and Liberals are languishing with approval in the mid-30 per cent, with all the preferential also-rans doing nothing but talk. We totally rely on the opposition, however depleted, to function as that, and fight bad governance as it hits daily media exposure. This is not happening due to the weird year of Liberal policy withdrawal from the field.

Instead of a current opposition, we are now fed heartfelt, rear-vision affirmations of the bleeding obvious from Liberal spokespeople, perversely placed in roles at odds with their expertise.

Betty Cockman, Dongara, WA

The LNP’s divisions are not primarily between the Liberals and Nationals, but “between moderates and conservatives” of both parties (“Nats open arms to Liberal defectors”, 17/10).

The litmus test is support for net zero. Although Matt Canavan and just about every MP agrees that there is global warming, the main question is what, if anything, to do about it.

Net zero by 2050 is a stretch, and Sussan Ley has rejected interim targets for 2030 and 2035. Liberal policy should embrace what is practical regarding the science, and the economics. The cost of net zero is high, but so is the growing cost of extreme weather events. Just look at soaring property insurance premiums.

The moderates know that a weak climate policy, with or without net zero, is political suicide.

John Hughes, Mentone, Vic

Which is the best party to vote for? I believe that with possibly a few exceptions, the politicians in Canberra are all there in an attempt to do the best they can to improve Australia as a nation.

The problem arises in the vastly different ideologies of all the parties in parliament. It would be great if the Australian public did not vote along rusted-on party lines. If the public could vote based on results at every election, then we would be vastly better off.

It is unfortunate that the current government simply does not have the runs on the board, as evidenced by the fact we had the largest decline in living standards in the developed world in the previous three years of its government. Would the Coalition do better is the question? Right now, I would say no. It has the people on the conservative side to make it happen, but the inner-city Liberals are far too Labor-light, and they are the problem the conservative politicians of Australia must resolve and quickly.

Ross Dillon, Teneriffe, Qld