New Liberal Party president Tony Abbott has interpreted the latest polling favouring One Nation as an indication voters are “desperate to get rid” of the Labor government. The former prime minister believes the surge in support for the right-wing party is a positive development for the Liberal Party, highlighting a combined majority for centre-right parties.
Polling Data Shows Shift
The latest Redbridge/Accent poll has One Nation surging to 31 per cent, ahead of Labor on 28 per cent and the Coalition on 20 per cent. The poll also found Labor's primary vote has tanked by 3 per cent after the party broke pre-election promises not to touch capital gains tax or negative gearing. These figures suggest a significant shift in voter sentiment away from the Labor government.
Mr Abbott told Sky News he would never “attack” people for voting for another centre-right candidate and saw the positive side of the latest polling. “What I take from today's polling is that if you look at the figures, 50 per cent plus are now desperate to get rid of this terrible Labor government,” Mr Abbott said. “There's 50 per cent plus for the Coalition and other parties of the right and only 40 per cent for parties of the green left Labor and the Greens. So, I think that the real message from the polls today is that the Australian public have well and truly woken up to this terrible Labor government with its un-Australian assault on aspiration and on wealth creation.”
Winning Back Voters
Sky News Chief Anchor Kieran Gilbert questioned how the former prime minister would endeavour to “win back” voters from the ascendant One Nation. Mr Abbott said by stepping back into the fray as the party’s president, he hoped that former Liberal voters would be reminded that his government sought to cut immigration and reject net zero. “One of the things that I hope my presence - in a sort of a harness - will do is remind people that there have been governments that have cut immigration. There have been governments that have not been interested in net zero,” he said. “There have been governments that have scrapped taxes. And they're always Liberal-National governments, including the government that I led. So, if you are serious about all of these things which are necessary to improve our country, well, the Liberal National Party has a record that no one else does.”
Distance from Hirst Comments
Speaking to ABC Radio National on Monday, Mr Abbott distanced himself from comments made by the Liberal Party’s outgoing federal director Andrew Hirst over the weekend. During his outgoing speech at the party’s federal conference on Saturday, Mr Hirst said One Nation was “not our friends”. “One Nation are not going away, they’re not our friends, and ignoring them is not an option,” he said. Mr Abbott conceded that the Liberal Party was in “competition” with One Nation, but that the common enemy was the “really bad green left Labor government”.
Role as Party President
Denying his appointment as party president was a “re-launch” of his political career, Mr Abbott said the reason he assumed the role was because “I think our country is in a bad way and our party needs to revive if our country is to survive”. “It will take hard work. What we need now is more members, good candidates, better and more effective fundraising,” he said. “And the point I make is if you normally vote Liberal, if you’re interested in public life, if you think our country is in trouble, please, don’t complain on the sidelines. Join the party and make a difference because we are still, by far, the most credible alternative government in this country. We are the tradition party, we respect institutions that have stood the test of time we support the family and small business, but above all else, Liberals think Australia is the best country on earth and we want to keep it that way.”
