John Howard calls for Liberal Party to get out of local government, stamp out factions

The former prime minister calls on the party to withdraw completely from local government while demanding leaders stamp out rampant factionalism.

Former prime minister John Howard in his Sydney office. Picture: Jane Dempster

John Howard has called on the Liberal Party to withdraw completely from local government, describing it as a waste of resources while demanding parliamentary leaders take a lead role in stamping out rampant factionalism within the party.

Ahead of a speech the former prime minister will give to an event in his honour on Thursday night to mark the 50th anniversary of his election to parliament, Mr Howard told The Australian he was disappointed in the slow pace of reform in the NSW division and called on party leaders to intervene.

“Factionalism is an absolute curse,” Mr Howard said.

“And the factions have become nothing other than a preferment co-operative.

“I think (NSW Liberal leader) Mark Speakman is a good leader, but it’s a mindset. And it’s not something that can be changed overnight.”

Mr Howard said he would also be arguing heavily in favour of the party pulling out of any political involvement in local government.

“I’ll be arguing that one of the two things that I would like the Liberal Party in NSW to do; I’d like it to redouble its efforts and it’s really a matter for the parliamentary leaders more than anybody else, to reduce factionalism, you can never really eliminate it,” he said.

In a shot at former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull, who in 2015 declared the party was not run by factions, Mr Howard said: “Unlike one of my successors as party leader I believe the Liberal Party does have factions.

“And factionalism is alive and well,” he said.

“The other thing I’d like it to do is get out of local government,” Mr Howard said.

“I was always opposed to it. I think it depletes resources and cuts across normal party divisions, I am going to be very critical of that.

“It’s been a very long held view of mine.

“In the 20 years since I was leader, we have now become heavily involved, I think it’s crazy, it cuts across normal divisions.”

Howard, right, with Malcolm Fraser.

Mr Howard said he was disheartened by the lack of reform to the NSW divisions and the persistence of factional divisions despite it being 18 months since an internal review following the 2022 federal election loss warned that the party must reform urgently or face declining relevance.

The review found that while Scott Morrison had been a drag on the party’s vote at the last election, leading to its loss, the factional corrosion of the party’s state divisions would threaten to cost it the next election.

There has been little reform undertaken in the NSW division since the review. A senior Liberal source said factionalism and sectarian conflict between moderates and conservative members had become more entrenched.

It singled out the NSW and Victorian divisions as being the most faction-riddled and structurally dysfunctional.

A young John Howard.

Mr Howard cited the recent ballot for the presidency of the NSW division as being an example of the factional divisions which lawyer Mark Bailli lose the ballot by a single vote to moderate and former NSW MP Don Harwin amid claims of irregularities with the counting.

Mr Baillie ran as a non-aligned candidate with the backing of Mr Howard.

Mr Baillie elected not to appeal the decision, which Mr Howard said showed he put the interests of the party ahead of those of the factions.

In an email sent to all NSW party members two weeks ago, Mr Baillie, said the party was in desperate need of reform.

“Unfortunately, I believe they are prevented from doing so by a constitution and governance structure that is no longer fit for purpose,” he wrote.

“I ran for president so that I could work to remove those barriers and to ensure that the problems we all know exist, could be fixed for the benefit of all members.

“The tactical amendments made to our constitution over the past 20 years or more have resulted in a document that is internally inconsistent and therefore operationally dysfunctional.

“Now is the time to begin the change we all know is needed.”

Mr Howard endorsed Mr Baillie’s comments.

“I’m disappointed, but I have to accept it, sometimes you win or lose by a narrow margin,” Mr Howard said.

“But I think everything in that email is right.”