logo
Ousted Liberal MP Keith Wolahan says Liberal Party needs to win back city voters after May 3 election defeat

Ousted Liberal MP Keith Wolahan says Liberal Party needs to win back city voters after May 3 election defeat

News.com.au04-05-2025

Ousted Liberal MP Keith Wolahan has warned his shattered party needs to focus on winning metropolitan seats with the party's representation all but dashed in the capital cities.
While Mr Wolahan said the count was still too close for him to formally concede his prized Melboure seat of Menzies – named for Robert Menzies the founder of the Liberal Party – he will likely lose to Labor's Gabriel Ng.
He says the Liberal Party needs to remember greater representations in cities.
'Ever since … election night (on 2022) … it was clear that our party has an issue in urban Australia, which is where most people live – most people live in cities,' he told ABC Insiders on Sunday.
'So we need to turn our mind to that like we have never done before,' Mr Wolahan said.
'We need to really dig deep and think about who we are and who we fight for and who makes up Australia … professional people, professional women, younger people.'
Mr Wolahan's comments were in response to comments made by former Liberal senate leader Simon Birmingham following the Coalition's 2022 defeat where he said the party had 'failed' to represent.
'We've lost the professionals out of the Menzian script, and we need to make sure we win back many more of those professionals, and especially Australian women, who are much more highly educated today thanks to wonderful opportunities provided by successive government,' Mr Birmingham said in 2022.
Despite hopes voters would swing to the Coalition due to the unpopularity of the state Labor government, the Liberal Party lost key seats in Melbourne, including Deakin (held by housing spokesman Michael Sukkar).
Out of 29 Sydney electorates, the Liberal Party holds just five, however counting continues in Paul Fletcher's former seat of Bradfield.
And of the 14 seats in the greater Brisbane region, it has just one seat in the bag, after losing Peter Dutton's seat of Dickson, Bonner, Petrie and Forde and possibly Longman.
However Mr Wolahan wouldn't go into the 'specifics' of why the party had turned off women or voters in the capital cities, and deferred comments to the post-election review.
'It should be a serious one, it should be a comprehensive one party's there's a lack of metropolitan members in the party room,' Mr Wolahan said.
'I think we need the rural and regional members – who I have great respect for and I admire them and they've done an amazing job – to put themselves in the shoes of Australians who live in an urban area.
'That's where we can't just go off perception – we have to go off the perspective of someone else. If we do more of that, then again, I think our party has a bright future.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

AUKUS defence pact 'being reviewed' by US government
AUKUS defence pact 'being reviewed' by US government

Perth Now

time21 minutes ago

  • Perth Now

AUKUS defence pact 'being reviewed' by US government

The US government is reportedly reviewing the AUKUS trilateral defence agreement between Australia, the UK and the US. The decision to conduct a review has been reported by multiple news outlets including Reuters, which cited US defence officials without giving further details. The review will reportedly examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's 'America First' policy, according to the ABC which also cited a Pentagon source. AUKUS is a three-nation security alliance between Australia, the UK and the US agreed in 2021 under the prime ministership of ex-Liberal leader Scott Morrison. It was formed to counter China's strategic moves in the Pacific arena and was underpinned by an agreement between the US and the UK to provide Australia with access to nuclear-powered submarine technology, to eventually replace its aging Collins-class boats. The deal is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, although the first submarine is not expected to join the Australian fleet for years. Australia, which in February made the first of six $US500 million (about $800 million) payments to the US for the boats, is expected to initially buy between three and five off-the-shelf Virginia-class boats. At the time, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Mr Trump was supportive of the AUKUS deal. "The president is very aware, supportive of AUKUS," Mr Hegseth said after a meeting with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles. "(He) recognises the importance of the defence industrial base." Mr Marles responded that the pair had discussed how the US and Australia could advance their longstanding diplomatic relationship in terms of national security, including AUKUS. Australia's military budget is expected to rise to 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product, or output, by 2034. The US regime has already called for Australia to increase that spending to around 3.5 per cent. Australia tore up its $90 billion diesel-powered submarine deal with France to sign on to AUKUS and is contracted to buy several off-the-shelf submarines costing about $US4 billion each, before making its own. The first Australian-made boats are not due to be operational until the 2040s.

AUKUS defence pact 'being reviewed' by US government
AUKUS defence pact 'being reviewed' by US government

West Australian

time24 minutes ago

  • West Australian

AUKUS defence pact 'being reviewed' by US government

The US government is reportedly reviewing the AUKUS trilateral defence agreement between Australia, the UK and the US. The decision to conduct a review has been reported by multiple news outlets including Reuters, which cited US defence officials without giving further details. The review will reportedly examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's 'America First' policy, according to the ABC which also cited a Pentagon source. AUKUS is a three-nation security alliance between Australia, the UK and the US agreed in 2021 under the prime ministership of ex-Liberal leader Scott Morrison. It was formed to counter China's strategic moves in the Pacific arena and was underpinned by an agreement between the US and the UK to provide Australia with access to nuclear-powered submarine technology, to eventually replace its aging Collins-class boats. The deal is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, although the first submarine is not expected to join the Australian fleet for years. Australia, which in February made the first of six $US500 million (about $800 million) payments to the US for the boats, is expected to initially buy between three and five off-the-shelf Virginia-class boats. At the time, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Mr Trump was supportive of the AUKUS deal. "The president is very aware, supportive of AUKUS," Mr Hegseth said after a meeting with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles. "(He) recognises the importance of the defence industrial base." Mr Marles responded that the pair had discussed how the US and Australia could advance their longstanding diplomatic relationship in terms of national security, including AUKUS. Australia's military budget is expected to rise to 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product, or output, by 2034. The US regime has already called for Australia to increase that spending to around 3.5 per cent. Australia tore up its $90 billion diesel-powered submarine deal with France to sign on to AUKUS and is contracted to buy several off-the-shelf submarines costing about $US4 billion each, before making its own. The first Australian-made boats are not due to be operational until the 2040s.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store