‘Australians think we are mean’: Senior Liberal Fiona Scott’s blistering election assessment amid leadership tussle
One of the most senior women in the Coalition has issued a blistering assessment of the party’s current state and fired a broadside at two former leaders over their comments about multiculturalism.
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One of the most senior women in the Coalition has issued a blistering assessment of the party’s current state and fired a broadside at two former leaders over their comments about multiculturalism.
As the Liberal party wrestles with an internal war over its future direction, federal vice president Fiona Scott — the former member for Lindsay — has revealed she believes “Australians think (the liberals) are mean”, saying the party had to “change or die”.
She also rejected comments recently made by former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott and former Nationals deputy prime minister John Anderson where the pair said “some cultures are superior to others”.
Ms Scott did not criticise the men personally but said it was not appropriate to “rank cultures”.
The flashpoint comes after the coalition lost heavily in multicultural seats.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, she said “Australians think we are mean” referring to Coalition policies including the swiftly abandoned plan to sack public servants and force them into offices.
“You don’t win elections by threatening to sack the bloke next door or drag public servants back into the city,” she said.
“Candidates and communities, especially women and multicultural Australians and our youth—were telling us something wasn’t right. But too often, it was dismissed as factional noise.”
Ms Scott pointed to Tony Abbott’s win in 2013, where the Coalition won 90 seats, as an example of the party at its strongest but rejected Mr Abbott’s recent comments on multiculturalism.
“In 2013, we ran on three words: Hope. Reward. Opportunity. They weren’t slogans — they were values,” she said.
“And we backed them with a plan that made sense to Australians. Where is that now?”
In a clip posted online, Mr Anderson told Mr Abbott: “All cultures are not equal … we want to argue there is nothing superior about our culture, of course there is.”
Mr Abbott responded: “Correct” and “Of course”.
“There is good and bad in all cultures, it’s ignorant to dismiss cultures or to rank cultures,” Ms Scott said in response to the clip.
“It should be an aspiration for all people to be better. To do better, to strive to be better and to celebrate diversity and uniqueness.”
Ms Scott said she agreed with other comments by the pair, saying the nation needed to reflect on a growing inability to debate ideas objectively.
“There has been an ideological march through our institutions and I, like him, am concerned about,” she said.
“I have an issue with corporate Australia weighing into ideological ideas but then he has done the same by ranking cultures. There is good and bad in everything.”
The comments come amid growing frustration from Coalition MPs over Mr Abbott’s intervention in bringing Jacinta Nampijinpa Price over from the Nationals to the Liberal party room in a move that inflamed tensions between the two partners.
Ms Scott did not weigh into factional brawls or the current leadership contest between Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor.
“I want to see whoever comes in to genuinely reform the party. Don’t just take leadership because it is your childhood dream, take it because you want to reimagine the future of our party and provide a vision for our country where we take everyone forward.”
The Liberal party is due to meet on Tuesday to decide its next leader and deputy leader.
Originally published as ‘Australians think we are mean’: Senior Liberal Fiona Scott’s blistering election assessment amid leadership tussle
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