Moderate Left (Liberal Party of Australia)

The Moderate Left is the informal moderate Centrist faction of the Liberal Party of Australia at that tends to be more socially liberal and economically liberal than the Conservative Right faction. The Moderate Left is a broad group of various centre-leaning parliamentarians. Despite of differences on social liberal views, the faction are conservative on economic and immigration issues.

Political views

The major uniting ideology of Liberal moderates is classical liberalism. The moderates view the party as a thoroughly liberal party base on, and believe that Robert Menzies, the party's founder, wished to steer his party away from conservatism, but reject the idea of democratic socialism, which adapted by the Australian Labor Party.

Moderates argue that conservatism does not appeal to majority of Australians, and hence, that the Liberal Party is never found to be a conservative party.

In recent years, party leader Malcolm Turnbull, a moderate conservative, has explicitly stated that the Liberal Party "is not a conservative party". Instead, Turnbull argues that the Liberal Party should occupy the "sensible centre", a position supported by his moderate left colleagues.

During the leadership of John Howard, moderates were largely ostracised from the party, with many accusing Howard shift the party to become the conservative party. Howard's leadership marked the first time the party shift to the right, which adapted Neoliberalism and social conservatism policies. Conservative side of the party defended the conservative policies of Howard government which made him won four consecutive terms.

Throughout Howard's time as Prime Minister, left liberals such as Judi Moylan, Mal Washer, Russell Broadbent and Petro Georgiou often crossed the floor and spoke strongly in favour of more liberal policy positions, particularly on the issue of refugees. Furthermore, moderates like Amanda Vanstone and Peter Costello sat in Howard's cabinet.

Former Prime Minister and party leader Malcolm Frasercondemned the rightward political shift the party made during the Howard years, and publicly supported the efforts of moderates to resume dominance within the party. He and Menzies, as he argues, saw the pursuit of "true liberalism" as the ultimate purpose of the Liberal Party.

In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott which backed from the conservative wing to become the new prime minister. With Julie Bishop, the moderates occupied the leaderships of Liberal Party of Australia. In Australian federal election, 2016, the Coalition lost 14 seats to 76 seats, with only one seat of majority in the House of Representatives. Some of the conservatives claim that Turnbull abandon some of the social conservative policies cost their votes.

Federal Members of the Moderate Left

See also

• Liberal Party of Australia
• Liberal National Party of Queensland

Further reading

• Northcote, J. R. (2016) Menzies: The Shaping Of Modern Australia. Brisbane: Connor Court Publishing. Library catalogue summary: It is impossible to make sense of modern Australia without understanding the achievements of Sir Robert Menzies. Half a century after Menzies left the Lodge, this timely work invites us to think again AbOUT the Menzies legacy and the enduring influence of his Liberal philosophy..
• Fraser, M. and Simons, M. (2015) Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs. Melbourne University Press. Library catalogue summary: In this part memoir and part authorised biography, Malcolm Fraser talks about his time in public life.
• Crabb, A. (2016) "Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull". Melbourne: Black Inc. Library catalogue summary: Drawing on extensive InterViews with Turnbull, Crabb delves into the young man's university exploits – which included co-authoring a musical with Bob Ellis – and his remarkable relationship with Kerry Packer, the man for whom he was at first a prized attack dog, and then a mortal enemy. She asks whether Turnbull – colourful, aggressive, humorous and ruthless – has changed sufficiently to entrench himself as prime minister. She tells how he first lost, and then won back, the Liberal leadership, and explores the challenges that now face him as the forward-looking leader of a Coalition government.