Since the recent election there's a lot of commentary saying the Liberal party needs to reconsider its policies and re-align with its core values which, when enumerated sound very centrist.

I just watched ABC's q&a, there was a few interesting points. There was a strong consensus that Trump style culture wars are toxic in Australian politics, and that it's unlikely future candidates would take that route.

I don't want to gloat infront of the seppos, but I think what's happening during this aftermath is very salient for all of those "both sides are bad" Americans.

In October last year there seemed to be a lot of users saying that they didn't want to reward the dems with their vote, and that the only way to communicate with the party was to withhold their vote.

I think what's happening right now in Australia demonstrates the importance of voting.

Labor might not be left enough for you personally, but each time the libs are defeated they need to move to the left to be viable, and Labor will have to move further left to differentiate themselves. That is to say, the spectrum of acceptable opinions is moving to the left in an observable manner, right now.

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[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Votes from politically disinterested people are only part of the picture. One of the reasons liberals weren't viable is because their base is dying off.

They need to gather up new dedicated voters somehow, and all the commentary is saying they need to move away from conservative policies like nuclear.

We will see what emerges in the coming days. I'm expecting a leader who is more palettable to the left than Dutton was.

[+] Ilandar@lemm.ee 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

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[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The rest of the article you quoted discusses the need for liberals to become more moderate.

These are the two paragraphs following yours:

Charlotte Mortlock, a former journalist and Liberal staffer, is the founder of Hilma’s Network, an organisation designed to encourage greater participation of women in the Liberal Party. She told Crikey the moderate wing of the party needed to be “more vocal than ever”.

“Pandering to the base of the party hasn’t worked for them,” she said. “The broader public need to see them being vocal and overt in their demands for reform and if they’re not, then they can’t blame the public for not knowing they exist.”

[+] Ilandar@lemm.ee 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (2 children)

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[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ok mate, we will see what happens.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I mean, so what if they listen to that advice and try to lean into the culture wars? So they lose some more elections, I think it would do a world of good for this country if the Liberals fell into irrelevance and we had a rise of politicians like the Teal independents that actually care about climate change.

[–] Salvo@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The more the Liberal Party and Gina’s and Rupert’s Right Wing media waffle on about the Mythical Culture war, the more people think that it is actually a thing.

Zuck’s and Elon’s Right Wing “new” media need to Fuck Off too.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 months ago

Considering the massive, once in a generation, second-term swing to the incumbent government I'd say we've seen a massive repudiation of those culture war talking points. Obviously that wasn't the only causal factor in these results, but it's worth noting Morrison tried some anti-trans stuff in 2022 as well and look where that got him. I think the Australian voting public is smarter than to fall for that sort of rhetoric. Mandatory voting also helps because the more disinterested voters still have to make a decision, and I think most people believe in a fair go.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago

Perhaps I'm just unnecessarily anxious, but I feel like the constant culture war nattering makes it be a thing.

For example, my parents are in their 80s. The struggles of trans people just aren't relevant to them in any way. The chances they would ever interact with a trans person in any meaningful way are infinitesimal.

However, if the leader of the liberal party is on TV every day complaining about how a trans person might use a public toilet for whatever gender, it will make my parents believe that it's a problem.

These politicians stoke the culture war to fire up and engage their base.

Locally we've had some conservative nutters complain about library books discussing sex and gender issues. It's just another manufactured outrage.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just thought I'd check in with you after the Liberals voted for Ley as their new moderate leader.

[+] Ilandar@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

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[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Your comments are contrary to most other commentary.

Karvellas asserted the inverse just this morning: Ley represents a significant shift to the centre.

You're right in that she will probably get knifed in the coming months. "See, we tried centrism and it didn't work".

However, even the liberals recognising that there's a need to demonstrate that they tried centrism is significant.

I'm happy to acknowledge that your opinion is unchanged. For my own part I think everything that has transpired over the last week demonstrates a change of trajectory.