The Liberal Party Attempt to Win Back One Nation Supporters By Stepping More to the Right

Federal Liberal Party Leader, Angus Taylor, and
Deputy Leader, Jane Hume.
Image: Gemini and TET.

Generally I try to keep one eye on Australian politics, mainly at the Federal level because that affects the whole country. State based politics really only become interesting at state election time, as they're something of an indicator of how the various parties might fare in a Federal election.

As indicated by the gains One Nation has been making at state level, with a recent Australian Financial Review/Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll suggesting the party is now the most popular party on primary support.

Much of this surge has been at the expense of the Liberal Party of Australia with former supporters seemingly agreeing that you may as well be voting for Labor since the parties are so similar (they aren't but they're both close enough to the political 'middle' it can certainly seem that way).

It seems the all new Liberal Leadership of Angus Taylor, and Deputy Leader, Jane Hume, has acknowledged this as a definite problem with a laundry list of revised policies that sound remarkably like they copied One Nation's homework. At least that's how it sounded to me.

Particularly their focus on immigration as a central policy issue, and the leading cause of housing shortages in Australia. Which it isn't, though obviously it does contribute to some degree. According to the Liberal Party website they plan to cap  immigration to new homes built as a way of bringing the numbers down.

Then there is their Newly launched Australian Values Migration Plan which is something One Nation has been preaching since Pauline Hanson formed the party. While I'm all for Australian values these policies, by their very nature, go against the Australian Value of a 'fair go' with their lists of seemingly strict requirements, heavy handed intolerance, and generally unwelcoming rhetoric.

I'm not going to run through all of the Liberal Party's revitalised plan. It's just my observation that the Liberal Party appears to be adopting policies that are more far right then ever before, not just to move away from the center but to also win back those voters that jumped to One Nation.

It's the same strategy they had against Labor, applied to One Nation. Look, our policies are so close to One Nation, you may as well come back to us. We've got the experience of forming government and we've listened to your concerns with policies that better align with you without going full far right.

Perhaps what the Liberal Party really need to do is to work out who they are again, instead of trying to be everybody else. Personally, I don't think I can confidently include the Liberal Party as my stop gap party preference with these new, more right leaning policies.