Liberal powerbroker lays out plans to launch Reform Australia party

Prominent conservative powerbroker Walter Villatora has quit the Liberal Party and laid out plans turn Reform Australia into a major political force.

Exclusive: Prominent conservative powerbroker Walter Villatora has quit the NSW Liberal Party, laying out ambitious plans to turn the fledgling, Nigel Farage-inspired Reform Australia into a “significant political force” on the centre-right of politics.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Villatora – a longtime conservative activist and former campaign manager for Tony Abbott and Mike Baird – revealed Reform’s plans to formally register as a political party in the coming weeks, with a view to running candidates for the House of Representatives and Senate at the next federal election.

“If Reform can get to around 15 per cent of the primary vote, it could then form a coalition with other parties to potentially form government on the basis of what Reform thinks is important,” he said.

“Reform’s mantra will be issues-based, not ideologically based, and focus purely on what Australians are worried about at the kitchen table.

Mr Villatora is a longtime conservative activist, and former campaign manager for Tony Abbott and Mike Baird.

“As soon as we’re registered, the world will change completely for us … we’re realistically four to six weeks out from that.”

“Our next phase will be a major media launch – legacy and social media – [and] a convention. The donors should come in at that point.”

To register a political party, the Australian Electoral Commission requires applicants to provide a membership list containing between 1500 and 1650 members.

Mr Villatora said Reform was in discussions with “high-profile Liberals” and “Liberal Party donors”, although he was not prepared to name them when asked.

Reform is currently running Facebook ads featuring veteran Benjamin Britton, who was dumped as the Liberals’ candidate for Whitlam ahead of the May 3 election, following the emergence of past comments about Covid lockdowns and women serving in the Australian Defence Force.

The Liberal Party dumped Benjamin Britton as their candidate for the seat of Whitlam ahead of the May 3 federal election. Picture: Liberal Party

Mr Villatora resigned from the NSW Liberal Party on Thursday, having received a notice of termination from state director Chris Stone earlier this week following reports he had registered a “Reform Australia” website domain.

Claiming the Liberal Party has “lost its way”, Mr Villatora insisted Reform Australia is a separate entity to Reform UK, but said he hoped to see Mr Farage visit the country soon.

“I think the party now cannot be rehabilitated. I think it’s lost its way completely,” he said.

“I think it’s entirely disconnected from the Australian people … This is exactly why Sir

Reform UK is leading Labour and the Conservatives in published polls.

Robert Menzies started the Liberal Party. The United Australia Party at the time had completely lost its way. It was entirely run by backroom operators in the shadow, which is what’s happened to us.

“We’re a completely different entity and operation here … we do happen to have a good relationship with Nigel anyway and we would like to see him be, I suppose, supportive in the future, to come out to Australia … There is no arrogance here. There’s nothing fanciful … I’m not Nigel Farage. I know his polling. I know the fact in three days he had more members than the Tories. That’s not us. We have to really earn people’s respect.”

Published polls in the United Kingdom show Mr Farage’s Reform UK well ahead of Keir Starmer’s Labour and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives.

Originally published as Liberal powerbroker lays out plans to launch Reform Australia party