Moderates (Liberal Party of Australia)

Last updated

Moderate Faction
Modern Liberals
Political position Centre to centre-right
House of Representatives
9 / 40
(2023 seats)
Senate
6 / 24
(2024 seats)[ citation needed ]

The Moderates, [1] [2] also known as Modern Liberals, [3] [4] Small-L Liberals [5] or Liberal Left, [6] are members, supporters, voters and a faction of the Australian Liberal Party who are typically economically, socially and environmentally liberal. [7] [8] [9] The faction has been described as centre [6] [10] [11] to centre-right. [12]

Contents

They compete with the Liberal Party's other three major factions: The National Right/Hard Right, the Centrists, and the Centre Right

Geographical base

Moderate Liberals often represent inner-city and wealthy House of Representatives seats or are in the Senate. [13] The Moderates are noted as having very little presence in the states of Queensland and Western Australia; however, in Victoria, the nominal Moderate faction is not affiliated with those of the other states. [13] The Moderates are the dominant faction in New South Wales and have provided all of the past three Liberal leaders in Tasmania (all of whom served as Premier).[ citation needed ]

Membership

Prominent moderates include former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, [14] former Foreign Affairs Minister and former Deputy Leader Julie Bishop, [15] former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, [16] former Attorney-General George Brandis, [17] and former Liberal-turned-independent MP Julia Banks. [18]

Prominent moderates in the Morrison government included Senate leader Simon Birmingham, [19] Marise Payne, Paul Fletcher and Linda Reynolds. [20]

At the state level, three Liberal leaders are from this faction: Mark Speakman (the New South Wales Opposition Leader), [21] John Pesutto (the Victorian Opposition Leader) [22] and Jeremy Rockliff (the current Tasmanian Premier). [23] Prominent Moderates in New South Wales include Gladys Berejiklian (the 45th Premier of New South Wales), [24] Matt Kean (the faction's leader in New South Wales and former deputy leader of the party), [25] Rob Stokes (a former Cabinet minister) [26] and Natalie Ward (the party's deputy leader in New South Wales). [27] Prominent Moderates in other states include Georgie Crozier and David Southwick in Victoria; [22] John Gardner, Vincent Tarzia, Josh Teague and Tim Whetstone in South Australia; [28] [29] and Peter Gutwein and Will Hodgman in Tasmania (who both served as Premier). [30] [31]

Current federal House members

As of 9 April 2023. [32]

Current federal Senate members

Former federal House members

Former federal Senate members

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Dave Sharma was formerly the Member for Wentworth from 2019 to 2022.
  2. ↑ Julia Banks left the Liberal Party in 2018 while sitting as a federal MP.

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References

  1. ↑ Turnbull, Malcolm (2020). A Bigger Picture. Australia: Hardie Grant Books. p. 110. ISBN   978-1-74379-563-7.
  2. ↑ "Comment: Rise of the Liberal moderates". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  3. ↑ The New Social Contract. Queensland, Australia: Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd. 2020. ISBN   978-1-922449-03-0.
  4. ↑ "'Modern Liberals': Dave Sharma and Tim Wilson rebrand over climate change". the Guardian. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Steketee, Mike (12 March 2021). "The revolt of the Liberal moderates". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Centrist Liberals need stronger voice". 20 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Massola, James (9 April 2023). "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald . Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Liberal moderates on guard as up to 10 seats vulnerable to progressive backlash". Australian Financial Review. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Turnbull is right to link the Liberals with the centre – but is the centre where it used to be?". 12 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull hits back at right-wing Liberals, says party was never intended to be conservative". 11 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull and the great paradox of Australian politics". 22 May 2018.
  13. 1 2 Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull: The man who couldn't be king". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Behind the Curtin, an epic power struggle is taking place within the WA Liberals". www.abc.net.au. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "'We are in the winner's circle': Pyne crows about influence of Liberal party's left faction". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  17. ↑ Grattan, Michelle (7 February 2018). "George Brandis warns Liberals against rise of populist right". The Conversation. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  18. ↑ Banks, Julia (2 July 2021). "'Shut up and take your HRT': ex-MP Julia Banks on Canberra's boys' club". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "The rise of the next generation of factional leaders". 23 August 2019.
  20. ↑ "Your Government | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "Mark Speakman elected leader of the NSW Liberals, promising renewal". Australian Financial Review. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  22. 1 2 "Victorian Liberal leadership contest hangs in the balance". The Age. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "Right shift not the fix: Tas Lib premier". The Canberra Times. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  24. ↑ "Gladys Berejiklian Elected NSW Premier". Triple M. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  25. ↑ Smith, Alexandra (15 September 2022). "Senior Libs push rising star Natalie Ward for lower house seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  26. ↑ Davies, Anne (22 January 2022). "The Right stuff: why shellshocked NSW Liberal moderates are fearing factional fights". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "New Liberal leader speaks out on NSW party's future". Australian Associated Press. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  28. ↑ Richardson, Tom (8 April 2022). "Teague bids for Lib leadership as federal heavyweight tapped for major review". InDaily. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  29. ↑ Richardson, Tom (19 April 2022). "Great Scot: Speirs takes leadership as Libs seek renewal". InDaily. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  30. ↑ "New Liberal premier of Tasmania Peter Gutwein says we must 'do more' on climate change". The Guardian. 20 January 2020. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  31. ↑ "Few have achieved as much as Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman". The Australian. 14 January 2020.
  32. ↑ Massola, James (9 April 2023). "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023.
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