Sussan Ley faces no shortage of ideas about what the federal Liberal Party should do to be competitive again after suffering its worst-ever election defeat.
Some MPs have suggested a formal merger with the Nationals, similar to Queensland where the LNP governs, or setting up a new right-wing conservative party.
Others have discussed the possibility of a split between the moderate and conservative flanks – an idea quickly hosed down by Liberal leadership.
While the party’s strategy remains unclear as the coalition continues to work through a wholesale policy review, the opposition leader wants MPs to reconnect with voters on longstanding Liberal values of lower taxes and smaller government.
On the 81st anniversary of the federal party’s founding, Ms Ley said the future must be dictated by the wants of voters and those party ideals.
“I’m very proud of all of my colleagues, in fact, for taking that message to Australians that we do need to reconnect with because, while we’re working on policies, we will always stand by the values that formed this party 81 years ago,” she told ABC TV on Thursday.
“Liberals are stronger when we stick to our values and we back aspiration.”
However, many MPs are frustrated about how long the policy review is taking.
A lack of policy five months on from the coalition’s loss to Labor means MPs are struggling to articulate to voters where it stands on multiple issues.
These include youth crime in Victoria, which became a sticking point after a highly publicised visit to Melbourne by Ms Ley and frontbenchers Andrew Wallace and Julian Leeser.
Mr Wallace, the shadow attorney-general, defended the trip on Thursday, claiming that while criminal law was primarily a state responsibility, it was the federal party’s job to call out the “faults” of the Victorian government.
Speaking on ABC radio, he suggested the state Labor government, which has been in power for more than 10 years, should do more to fund police and community youth clubs as a “diversionary” measure for young people.
But when asked seven times about how the federal opposition would tackle youth crime if it won the next election, Mr Wallace wouldn’t say, arguing his party wasn’t the Victorian government.
He has promised to develop a “suite of policies” on youth crime, although it’s too early to say what they’d be.
Asked why he and his colleagues felt the need to visit Melbourne if crime was predominantly a state issue, Mr Wallace said it was important to tell Victorians they were being “let down by their state government”.
Senior Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has invited disaffected coalition partners in the Liberals to switch to the junior party, while pouring cold water on the idea of a Queensland-style merger.
The Liberal Party is “rightfully going through a process internally”, Senator McKenzie said.
“They’re all seeking to redefine the Menzies legacy for modern Australia, and that’s something they’ve got to do and I wish them all the best for it,” she told Nine’s Today program on Thursday.
“The idea that there’s a federal LNP on the way isn’t the answer.”
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claims the Liberal Party is losing members “in droves” because of flawed policies, suggesting voters were looking to her anti-immigration party as a political alternative.
The latest Newspoll revealed One Nation has surged to a primary vote of 11 per cent, nearly double what it received at the May election, while the Liberals remain at near-record lows.
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