The former Morrison government lacked long-term vision, sent mixed messaging on climate policy and lost public trust, the Liberal Party’s youth wing says.
The Young Liberal Movement of Australia has blamed mounting political scandals, inaction in critical public policy areas and the treatment of women as reasons for the election loss in May.
In a submission to the Liberal Party election campaign review being conducted by Senator Jane Hume and former federal director Brian Loughnane, the youth wing cites 20 problems across issues involving the economy, climate change, integrity, youth, women and equality.
A “coordinated public attack” by some backbenchers on the coalition’s climate policies damaged voter perception, the group said.
“Combined with the Morrison government’s own failure to communicate to the public the positive actions it was taking made climate change a top election issue,” the submission said.
The Liberal-National coalition lost 18 seats at the May election and suffered a nationwide 5.7 per cent swing against it.
A failure to attract, retain and promote women within the Liberal Party was also a key part of the election defeat, said the submission which noted the party preselected fewer women for the 2022 election than it had for the 2019 vote.
“The Liberal Party lacks a national strategy or plan for women, instead focusing on ‘fire-fighting’ techniques, often with the best of intentions, but failing to deliver any long-term results,” it said.
The election review would provide the party with an ability to learn from the mistakes made by the former government, Young Liberals federal president Clark Cooley said.
The youth wing recommends the party adopt a minimum of 50 per cent women in any list of prospective election candidates.
“We have much to learn from the election, including our significant deficit of leadership on climate change, integrity in politics and on improving the status of women in Australia,” Mr Cooley said.
The former government also failed to appeal to young voters, the wing said.
Liberal Party volunteers were left disenfranchised in the lead-up to the election, particularly in NSW where Scott Morrison hand-picked candidates instead of allowing branches to select them.
The captain’s call made by the former prime minister was a “significant distraction”, the submission said, and did not activate party members and volunteers.
