One of the contenders to be Liberal leader, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, has been blasted by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who claims his lack of policy work was to blame for the party's election rout. "I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell," Senator Hughes said on Radio National.
"I don't know what he's been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative." Senator Hughes said a "huge number" of her Liberal colleagues shared that concern.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor is considered a possible next leader for the Liberal party. (ABC News: Matt Roberts) The shadow treasurer is on the shortlist of Liberal MPs being considered a likely next Liberal leader, alongside deputy Sussan Ley, Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan and Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie. None of them have yet nominated for the leadership, with some close seats yet to be finalised.
But Senator Hughes said Mr Taylor should not put his hand up and he deserved some blame for the opposition's poor campaign. "The biggest issue — and I am hearing this from everyone I am speaking to — [was] the complete lack of policy and economic narrative was incredibly difficult for everyone out on the ground. People just had nothing to sell," Senator Hughes said.
"Whoever was running that [expenditure review committees] process, nothing seemed to come out of it." Loading… Senator Hughes, who held assistant ministries in NDIS and mental health before she was dumped by the party last year, said she had pitched policy ideas to the ERC but heard nothing back.
She is due to leave parliament but will still have a vote for the next Liberal leader. 'Dreadful, deluded and doomed': Dutton's night of the living dead Photo shows Dutton, on stage, reaches his hand high to wave For the Coalition, Saturday night was like one of those gory horror movies where half the headline cast gets decapitated before the first act is over. Speaking on ABC Radio National, the senator said she would not vote for Mr Taylor if he nominated, after suggesting he had a role in her losing pre-selection for the Senate.
"There's a reason I won't be voting for someone in the leadership ballot should they put their name forward," she said. "Whilst [he has made] efforts to get rid of people like me in his leadership ambitions, I am still in the party room until June 30 and get to vote for the next leader. So it may not have worked out too well from him, that plan."
Warren Entsch, who retired from the party at this election, also rejected Mr Taylor. "We need to be very careful when we select our next leader. I'm going to get popular for this," he joked, "but [it should be] the two people in there who have had the length of experience there in leadership.
"That would be Sussan Ley of course and, what's his name? Dan Tehan." Sussan Ley served as deputy Liberal leader under Peter Dutton.
(ABC News: Ian Cutmore) Treasurer Jim Chalmers also put the boot into his rival, suggesting he had not taken ownership of the Liberal loss. "I think it would be extraordinary if Angus Taylor was rewarded with a promotion after a diabolical defeat," Mr Chalmers said. Liberal senator Dave Sharma would not air his views on who should be the next leader, but said whoever it is must understand that the Coalition would never again govern unless it could regain relevance in the cities.
He added that his National colleagues in the regions must understand that the party needs to have broad appeal to different people. "Whoever puts themselves forward as leader would be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the reasons why we lost, and quite a comprehensive diagnosis of that," Senator Sharma said. Gruen Nation — Stream now Photo shows An election sign of Wil Anderson in a neighbourhood with a dog urinating on it with Gruen Nation Election edition and iview.
This election season politicians have tried to sell you the world. The team at Gruen isn't about to buy it. They've taken a big swing at the election, showing you how the democracy sausage is made, all the sizzle and none of the meat.
All-inclusive review must assess nuclear, gender Frontbencher Jonno Duniam said the party needed to stop obsessing over "right" and "left" politics. "Someone I respect very much once told me politics is not a rocket science. Go out, understand what it is the community want, find a solution to their problems and then tell them what you're doing to fix it.
It's a very straightforward proposition," Senator Duniam said. "I don't buy this, 'You've got to go to the right, you've got to go to the left.'" He also reflected on the election loss and what he said was a poorly managed campaign.
"The mainland headquarters, as happens from campaign to campaign, were looking at their numbers — and frankly some of the worst, bodgie polling I have seen, that they relied on," he said. "We knew weeks ago we were in trouble." Retiring senator Linda Reynolds also offered a scathing assessment, saying "the seeds of our current situation have been long coming, and require no sugar-coating".
"Ten years ago I was part of a review into gender … and we recommended targets and how to get there without quotas," Senator Reynolds says "That's been the Liberal Party policy for 10 years but it's just sat on a shelf. "We do have to have the hard conversations now about how we become more gender-balanced but also a broader diversity." Loading Loading… Having trouble seeing this form?
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