Petulant Lib lightweights show why there is a need for outside help, by Janet Albrechtsen.
It says a great deal about the state of the Liberal Party that some Liberal MPs are openly hostile to Advance Australia, a grassroots group that aims to be a GetUp for mainstream Australians. That these whingers are anonymous tells you too about the kiddie-pool depths of their convictions.
One federal Liberal MP who wouldn’t put his name to his petulance said the group is “like the IPA (Institute of Public Affairs) but with stupid people”. …
The IPA (Institute of Public Affairs):
The newly formed IPA was there when Robert Menzies brought together disparate anti-Labor forces to form the Liberal Party. …
These days his son, Rod Kemp, chairs an even more reform-minded IPA that is stronger than ever: membership is booming, we have more than 1000 young members, donations flow from optimistic supporters whose belief in this country is palpable.
Can griping Liberal MPs say the same thing about their party? It is becoming a narrow class of former political apparatchiks, membership is in decline and donors are disgruntled about a directionless and dreary organisation. The Liberal Party is on its electoral knees because politicians who snub their nose at Advance Australia have failed to connect with Australian voters. …
IPA boss John Roskam says Liberals need to face up to their existential crisis. They could start with copying success. The left side of politics is strong because it is buttressed by large elements of civil society supporting political parties that echo their views, be it Labor or the Greens. More voices mean loud and clear messages to voters from the left and centre-left of politics.
“On the centre-right of politics, who is supporting the Liberals?” asks Roskam. “Not business any more. And liberalism can’t afford to just be expressed through the Liberal Party. If that was the case, liberalism in Australia would be dead because the Liberal Party doesn’t support our basic freedoms and is as big-spending and as high-taxing as Labor.” …
Advance Australia:
This country needs Advance Australia, and a dozen more organisations like it, to succeed in the long term. The future of liberalism as a set of ideas, and the Liberal Party as a conduit for those values, depends on more voices that reflect mainstream issues.
Advance Australia has started drawing up a list, from creating economic opportunities and a fairer taxation system, to championing merit, not special favours, tackling censorious political correctness, defending core values such as freedom of speech and religious freedom, and ensuring Australia is safe and secure. When it launched on Monday last week, Advance Australia had 1000 members. A week later, it had amassed more than 9000 members from every Australian state and territory, raised more than $100,000 and attracted public attacks from its left-wing competitor GetUp. By attacking Advance Australia, GetUp — a $55 million organisation that has tallied up $42m on political expenditure — treated the new kid on the block as a credible threat to GetUp’s 12-year monopoly on grassroots campaigning.
