The Liberal Party must move left

The cause of the massive defeat of the Liberal Party at the recent election was indubitably the deep-seated dislike for Scott Morrison. After the Coalition lost the 2022 Australian federal election and Morrison announced that he would resign as Liberal Party leader, Peter Dutton has been seen as the front runner to lead the party.

The media tells us that the Liberal's more conservative faction reckon they have the votes to make Dutton win.

To do so would be the kiss of death for the Liberal Party. Peter Dutton is a conservative. Mark McGowan, the WA premier stated that 'He is an extremist and I don't think he fits in with modern Australia at all. ,,, He is extremely conservative.' Mark McGowan was responsible for the Labor Party's major gains in the recent election . Nationally, Labor took a 0.5 per cent hit in its primary vote, but in WA it surged by 7.4 per cent, toppling two coalition ministers, flipping four seats red and clearing the path for Labor to form majority government. The recent Q& A session on ABC Tv spent considerable time arguing whether Dutton's hard line conservatism made him a suitable leader of the Liberal party. Additionally, the aggressive language that the Coalition's Peter Dutton employed in relation to China clearly alienated many Chinese-Australians.

The Liberals must prioritise fairness, protect minority groups and ditch the culture wars stoked under Scott Morrison's leadership, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg says, warning that a move to the right would "guarantee political purgatory". This article asserts that it would guarantee oblivion,

The recent election also provided the nation's verdict on conservatism. Australians want action on global warming, on honesty in government, a fair go for women, Reference to a dictionary will tell you that a conservative is "adverse to change or innovation; holding traditional values". But this definition is insufficient for defining a political conservative. Gregory Schneider in The Conservative Century: From Reaction to Revolution, for instance, writes: "The label (conservatism) is in frequent use and has come to stand for a scepticism, at times an outright hostility, toward government social policies. (It stands for) a muscular foreign policy combined with a patriotic nationalism; a defence of traditional Christian religious values; and support for the free-market economic system.", The expectation that the elected members of a party toe their party line is the modern-day equivalent of conservatism - the dominance of those with wealth or power. It is a complete antithesis of democracy. *

The major defenders of conservatism world-wide, Friedrich von Hayek, Robert Nozick, Michael Savage and Barry Goldwater put up a sound defence, Possibly the strongest lines in the conservative argument are "I work hard, am successful, and create jobs. It is wrong to tax me more." And " My business creates jobs, builds national income,. I should get tax relief"

But this opinion writer argues that conservative thinking is essentially immoral.

Conservatism, in its classical expression – resistance to change – has resisted the great changes over history that have resulted in this century, despite its many imperfections, being of greater benefit to the vast majority of the human race, than over all of previous time. Thesocial developments over history have been immense:

The abolition of slavery; the overturning of feudalism; the rise of participative government; the creation of the welfare state - sickness, disability, universal education and old age benefits; the emancipation of women; support for single mothers; decriminalisation of homosexuality; the abolition of child labour; treatment of the mentally ill; even the ending of suttee.

All have been driven by a rejection of conservative thinking.

This rejection reflects a universal moral framework, repeated in numerous moral statements set out for us over the centuries .This moral framework is probably best reflected in The Parable of the Good Samaritan. A traveller is attacked by robbers and left half dead alongside the road. A Jewish priest and a Levite come by, but both ignore the man. Finally, a Samaritan happens upon the traveller. Although Samaritans and Jews despised each other, the Samaritan helps the injured man.

The obligation was first documented by King Solomon but probably the wording most known to us is that of the Dalai Lama: "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them". This basic moral obligation was set out by King Solomon about 1000 BC in the Book of Proverbs in Proverb 3.27and Proverb 3.29, and as noted, repeated by Jesus Christ in the Parable of the Good Samaritan and to a large extent, in the Sermon on the Mount. Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote similar thoughts about 60 BC in his On Living and Dying Well.

Charles Darwin, in The Descent of Man raised the issue of a strong leader. He states "As soon as a tribe has a recognised leader, disobedience becomes a crime, and even abject submission is looked at as a sacred virtue." The conservative position over history has been taken by those with power and wealth. The American Declaration of Independence may claim that "All men are created equal", but such is not the case. Those with power and wealth have over the centuries, essentially decided for us all.The expectation that the elected members of a party toe their party line is the modern-day conservative equivalent of the dominance of those with power. It is a complete antithesis of democracy. In 1943, at the height of World War II, Simone Weil produced an essay titled "On the Abolition of All Political Parties." Weil's first argument against parties is that they prevent democracy from finding out the true, correct solutions to problems. "The general will cannot emerge" she asserted. Her second argument is even stronger: "Political parties," she writes, "are organizations that are publicly and officially designed for the purpose of killing in all souls the sense of truth and of justice." Members of a party delegate their conscience to the party, accepting its verdict on all political and moral questions.

Australia demonstrated this rejection in the vote against the Liberal /Nationals Coalition and with the emergence of the Independent candidates. Mostly women, with a very progressive stance: Pro climate management, integrity in government, consideration for women.

The swing was massive. Goldstein was long regarded as one of the Liberal party's safest seats in Victoria. It had been held by the Liberals and their predecessors since federation. It went to one of the independents, Zoe Daniel

So what happens if the Coalition moves further to the left?

First of all, Peter Dutton is unlikely to become leader of the Liberal Party. He is too conservative. But if he does, the party is doomed to many years in the wilderness

Second, the Coalition is likely to break up. Barnaby Joyce and his National Party are party to the pro-coal movement . With a less conservative opposition, coal is finished. Possibly the Nationals with it : the Guardian recently reported that the Rural News Corp paper the Weekly Times, delivered sharp rebuke to Barnaby Joyce over Nationals' climate denials.

News Corp under Rupert Murdoch will likely face increasing controlling legislation. Kevin Rudd recently attacked Rupert Murdock; Murdoch controls an excessive share of Australian media with a circulation among national and capital city dailies at 65 per cent. Rudd's petition to establish a royal commission into media diversity in Australia attracted more than half a million signatures. He termed News Corp as a "cancer eating at the heart of Australian democracy".

The recent ABC 4 Corners episode on News Corp investigated how Murdoch ran Fox News as a propaganda vehicle for Donald Trump and helped destabilise democracy in the United States. Rupert Murdoch has become increasingly conservative in his old age – as reflected in the development of Fox News and its support for the US President Donald Trump.We all remember a Murdoch paper headlining "Kick this mob out "in the 2013 election.

Australia's treatment of two groups of people - Aboriginals and refugees will improve. Albanese has committed to supporting the Uluru statement from the Heart.

Refugees will be better treated, Already we have seen with Labor the Bilolea Family, an Australian story of cruelty will be allowed to return to their home town. Should the Liberal Party move left , Australia's treatment of refugees will become more compassionate . Peter Dutton as the Minister for Home Affairs was not the most compassionate of ministers

Last, more Australians will be better off. With both sides of the political fence working towards a fairer and more equitable Australia, instead of engaging in attacks on each other and slanging matches in the media, the result is likely to be more brains at work to build a country that produces wealth and shares it more equitably. The days of Tony Abbott's 2014 horror budget will have been long gone. The perception (by 63% of the those asked in a Nielsen poll) was that this budget was unfair. Those at the bottom were being asked to "lift" weights way out of their class.

Robert Menzies' concepts in founding the Liberal Party set out in hisspeech The Forgotten People on 22 May 1942, which defines and exalts Australia's middle class, will become more of a reality.