Liberals revolt over policy failures as Sussan Ley is ‘pragmatic’ frontrunner for leader

A raft of Liberal policies across environment, health, defence, tax and education were either not released or held back, as Sussan Ley emerges as the ‘pragmatic’ frontrunner in the race for the next leader.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

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A raft of Liberal policies across ­environment, health, defence, tax and education were either not released or held back so long that they “barely saw the light of day”, insiders have revealed, as Sussan Ley emerges as the “pragmatic” frontrunner over Angus Taylor in the race to be the next leader.

Coalition insiders said policies worked on for years that would have laid out how the opposition would “halve” approval times for environmental projects and address the defence force’s personnel crisis were spiked by Peter Dutton’s office and Liberal HQ, while proposals in portfolios such as education were held up for months until it was almost too late to spruik them to voters.

“People in the policy unit or whatever you want to call it thought they knew better than everyone else,” one senior Liberal source said.

The Australian understands defence spokesman Andrew Hastie was effectively shut out of policy development in his portfolio by Mr Dutton, a former defence minister, who Liberal sources claim leaned instead on an Institute of Public Affairs policy blueprint funded by Gina Rinehart – a longtime detractor of Mr Hastie.

“Most decisions came from four or five people, Peter (Dutton), Angus (Taylor) and a few in the Senate, like (James) Paterson,” one Liberal MP said.

Tasmanian senator Jonathon Duniam on Tuesday became the latest Liberal to blast the handling of the election by the Coalition’s campaign headquarters.

“Many of us on the ground right across the country, (including) me here in Tasmania, saw some pretty alarming signs, which we fed in but were ignored,” Senator Duniam told Sky News.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie said there were a range of issues that led to the “catastrophic loss”, including problems “around the campaign, research, communication, policy … tactics and strategy”.

Recriminations over the Coalition’s crushing loss come amid a growing battle for the Liberal leadership, with Ms Ley emerging as the key contender over Mr Taylor as several conservative MPs shifted support to her.

Mr Taylor’s detractors have unleashed an avalanche of criticism against the opposition Treasury spokesman in recent days, blaming him for the Coalition’s lacklustre economic agenda and perceived failure to take advantage of Labor’s management of the cost of living. On Tuesday, the criticism continued, with several Liberal MPs remarking Mr Taylor had a “very close” relationship to Mr Dutton, in an effort to link him to the deeply unpopular former Liberal leader.

“If Angus Taylor is the answer, I’m not sure what the question is,” one senior Liberal said. “If you can’t make a dent after 12 interest rate hikes and oppose (Labor’s’) tax cuts you should be disqualified from the Liberal leadership.”

Another Liberal source said: “Any Liberal treasurer that doesn’t support tax cuts is electoral poison”.

Outgoing Liberal senator Hollie Hughes said she had “concerns” about Mr Taylor’s capability, raising questions over what he had done for three years.

Backers of Ms Ley describe her as a pragmatic moderate willing to take on Labor when needed, ­arguing that her appointment as the Liberal Party’s first female leader could help win back disillusioned female voters and provide a harder target for Anthony Albanese, who often stresses the need to be more respectful of women.

Likely aiding Ms Ley’s leadership bid is Liberal moderate Tim Wilson’s expected victory in Goldstein. Liberal candidates in the former blue-ribbon seats of Kooyong and Bradfield, Amelia Hamer and Gisele Kapterian, are also expected to lend support to Ms Ley’s candidacy if they win.

While Liberal insiders said Ms Ley would have the numbers based on moderates and undecided members, several conservatives revealed they also believed she would be the best choice.

Dan Tehan’s name has also been floated, but many MPs said they didn’t believe he would get the leadership and needed to focus on holding Wannon, which he came so close to losing.

“The fact is, Angus (Taylor) would survive seven seconds, Dan Tehan one minute and Sussan Ley a few hours,” one Coalition MP said. “I don’t really think any of them are up for it, but Sussan is more than the others.”

Mr Taylor’s supporters have sought to distance him from Mr Dutton, pointing to his push to develop an income tax policy designed to eliminate bracket creep.

Additional reporting: Ben Packham