Julia Banks didn’t rat on the Liberal Party because she was elected to Brand Turnbull
Brand Turnbull. Katharine Murphy, Guardian Australia, December 2:
Asked how she intends to respond to critics … (who) characterise her as … a Liberal party rat, Banks … (said): “I wasn’t elected in Chisholm under the Liberal party brand” … (and got) only cursory institutional support during the 2015 campaign. “I was elected under Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop’s brand. I was a total unknown. I used Malcolm’s face everywhere.”
Brand Turnbull? Ri Liu, Guardian Australia, July 7, 2016:
Election campaign tracker: where have the candidates been … (Chisholm — Bill Shorten twice. Malcolm Turnbull zero.)
Brand Turnbull? Matthew Knott, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 3, 2016:
The final days of an election campaign, you might assume, would be filled with frenetic activity … (But the) pace of the campaign — already at a low tempo — grew positively languid … “We will win on July 2,” Turnbull had declared … as he strolled towards the finish line … Political historians will no doubt wonder why a prime minister who appeared to find the process of politicking such a chore chose a marathon eight-week campaign. And how a man … could sleepwalk into a horror election result.
Libs no help? Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald, December 1:
At the first fundraising event of her campaign … state president Michael Kroger (spoke) and … (a) local branch official … Tony Abbott did offer to campaign for her. Banks declined. Abbott wasn’t a crowd-pleaser, she decided. After that, the party actively discouraged other top Liberals such as Julie Bishop and Marise Payne from campaigning for Banks.
Libs no help? Paddy Naughtin, Whitehorse Leader, June 24, 2016:
Former prime minister John Howard can still pull a crowd after he was mobbed on a tour of Box Hill Central … to help … Julia Banks … ahead of this weekend’s federal election … seeing Mr Howard definitely left a smile on many faces, although some shoppers were … a little bit confused, wishing Mr Howard luck in the upcoming election. “No, no, Mr Turnbull is the prime minister, don’t vote for the wrong person, now,” he laughed … Ms Banks said she was very thankful (for Howard’s support.)
I’m a moderate. Murphy, Guardian Australia, December 2:
(Julia Banks says,) “People knew that I was a strong moderate and a Turnbull ally.”
What about voters? Doug Hendrie, Guardian Australia, July 8, 2016:
Gladys Liu, the Liberal Party communities engagement … chairwoman for Victoria … says the (Chinese WeChat) campaign was behind the upset result in Chisholm (and) … centred on three issues (that worried Chinese voters — Safe Schools, same-sex marriage and Labor’s policy on refugees) … The Labor candidate for Chisholm … says the WeChat campaign hurt her chances.
Banks was bullied? Toughen up, cupcake. Elias Visontay, The Australian, December 3:
“Everyone says poor Julia Banks was bullied. Unless I’ve been in some coma, I haven’t read what bullying she was subjected to, by whom and when?” (Liberal moderate Amanda) Vanstone said. “I’m a bit annoyed at the people who say, ‘I’ve been bullied’. Have you really? Let’s deal with it. But just ‘I’ve been bullied and I want attention for it’, and I’m leaving because they bully me … If I was there, I wouldn’t be putting up with it.”