Latest news with #Howard-era
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA's new gun laws to remain after disallowance motion thrown out
Sweeping changes to Western Australia's gun laws have been backed by members of parliament, with the majority voting to throw out a disallowance motion put forward in an attempt to stop them in their tracks. Nationals Leader Shane Love campaigned on a pledge to rewrite the Firearms Act 2024 – passed through state parliament in June last year – ahead of the March state election. The act is the most sweeping change to gun laws in Australia since the Howard-era reforms. Love continued to advocate for an end to those laws despite the election loss and first put forward a disallowance motion in the lower house in May, which ultimately failed. On Thursday afternoon, another disallowance motion was put forward by Legalise Cannabis MLC Brian Walker in the upper house. Despite receiving support from the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation, both the Greens and Labor representatives voted it down 17 to 19. Greens leader Brad Pettitt said that the 'nuclear option that's before the parliament today … is something that can't be supported'. The vote occurred after a protest on the steps of parliament house that attracted more than 1000 firearms owners across WA, frustrated and angered by the new laws – labelled the strictest in Australia. A firearm portal that gun owners must now use to register their weapons has also faced significant scrutiny for being confusing to use and failing to work properly.
The Age
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
WA's new gun laws to remain after disallowance motion thrown out
Sweeping changes to Western Australia's gun laws have been backed by members of parliament, with the majority voting to throw out a disallowance motion put forward in an attempt to stop them in their tracks. Nationals Leader Shane Love campaigned on a pledge to rewrite the Firearms Act 2024 – passed through state parliament in June last year – ahead of the March state election. The act is the most sweeping change to gun laws in Australia since the Howard-era reforms. Love continued to advocate for an end to those laws despite the election loss and first put forward a disallowance motion in the lower house in May, which ultimately failed. On Thursday afternoon, another disallowance motion was put forward by Legalise Cannabis MLC Brian Walker in the upper house. Despite receiving support from the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation, both the Greens and Labor representatives voted it down 17 to 19. Greens leader Brad Pettitt said that the 'nuclear option that's before the parliament today … is something that can't be supported'. The vote occurred after a protest on the steps of parliament house that attracted more than 1000 firearms owners across WA, frustrated and angered by the new laws – labelled the strictest in Australia. A firearm portal that gun owners must now use to register their weapons has also faced significant scrutiny for being confusing to use and failing to work properly.
West Australian
19-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Industry wary but confident of environmental law overhaul after talks with new minister
Business leaders remain wary of environmental reforms following the nature positive disaster but new minister Murray Watt is doing a better job of earning their trust than his predecessor. Industry sources who attended an initial consultation on Thursday told The West they got a much better vibe from the new environment minister than Tanya Plibersek, who some said was more likely to take an 'it's my way or the highway' approach. The main sticking points to landing the reforms within Senator Watt's ambitious 18-month timetable are the scope of a Federal environmental protection agency and whether climate impacts should be added as a consideration for project approvals. The minister told the 30 groups represented at the roundtable — half in Canberra and half attending virtually — that he was determined to get the deal done and all sides would have to compromise. 'I think that people understand that we had a lost opportunity in not being able to reach agreement as a country about where these rules go,' Senator Watt said afterwards. 'If we don't pass these laws, then our environment faces more destruction. Businesses face more cost and delay in their projects.' Business Council Australia chief executive Bran Black backed the aim to get the changes through in the first half of this term. 'We need more projects approved and more homes built, and the closer we get to an election the harder it can sometimes get to achieve consensus,' he said. Peak bodies for resources, construction, agriculture and energy attended along with a range of environmental groups and key figures from Rio Tinto, BHP, AACo, Mirvac, Origin, Stockland and Lendlease. Industry representatives described the talks as a 'strong start', productive, and a 'constructive reset' although acknowledged there was a long way to go yet. It was the first time during Labor's efforts at overhauling the Howard-era laws that stakeholders from all sides had been in a room together and were able to put their views to the minister. Senator Watt told those gathered for the EPBC Act consultations that he had deliberately mixed up the seating around the large table in one of Parliament House's committee rooms so that 'we don't have an industry corner and an environment corner' in order to better encourage people to work together. He said there appeared to be genuine commitment from everyone to get something done. The view was echoed by one stakeholder, who said most of those involved had already been through several iterations of talks and no longer wanted to go through the motions and let it die. They thought Senator Watt was preparing to put forward something more achievable and acceptable than Ms Plibersek had tried. She had split the establishment of an EPA out from the environmental protection rule changes and proposed a model that went further than the Samuel review proposed. Ultimately, the nature positive legislation couldn't find support for either the Coalition or the Greens to pass. Others were encouraged that the minister's starting point seemed to be working with the existing Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act rather than seeking to write an entirely new Act. He also committed to a more transparent process and a comprehensive package that incorporated both the proposed new watchdog and the rule changes. Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said a 'robust and transparent consultation process that allows stakeholders to provide input at each stage and, crucially, to see the proposed legislative changes in their entirety before they are introduced to Parliament' was integral to achieving the objectives of better outcomes for the environment and business. Association of Mining and Exploration Companies head Warren Pearce said while there were still differing views, there was a clear desire on all sides to get this done. 'Minister Watt is pretty frank, he is seeking a package of reforms that can find broad support – and that will pass the Parliament – and to get it done in the first half of the new term,' he said. A top priority resources groups is removing the duplication between State and Federal processes, which will come down in part to the role of the new federal EPA and whether the Federal minister retains the powers to make ultimate approvals decisions. 'While a national EPA is clearly a key priority, questions remain around decision-making accountability,' Minerals Council of Australia head Tania Constable said. Environmental groups are pushing for a climate trigger to be included in the new laws, which many on the industry side see as a deal-breaker, pointing out that it would stop far more than just coal and gas projects. But Greenpeace's Glenn Walker said the environmental framework was already failing and needed fixing urgently. 'Central to all of this is an independent national environmental watchdog with teeth to enforce the laws and make decisions on approvals or large projects,' he said.
The Advertiser
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Why history might hold the answer for stricken Liberals
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, as the aphorism goes. For the Liberal Party, the lessons to be learned after a historic election defeat eerily resemble a re-run of a schooling the party received decades earlier. Women and young people abandoned the conservatives, multicultural communities lost faith and there was a prominent drop in support among metropolitan voters. Those findings from a 1983 review into the blistering election defeat of then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser mirror problems raised by party members after the party's 2025 loss. Fresh thinking was needed, the talents of women should be better utilised and there had to be better communication with young people, then-Liberal president John Valder found, noting parties that ignored change didn't survive. One of those points has been addressed after the most recent electoral defeat with the appointment of Sussan Ley as the first female leader of the federal Liberals. But she still faces a monumental challenge with a loss of frontbench talent and the need to re-establish what the Liberals stand for with voters, experts and party insiders say. The wipeout under Peter Dutton on May 3 was proportionally worse than Mr Fraser's defeat, reducing the Liberals to just 30 per cent of lower house seats - its worst position in the post-war era. In addition to their greater parliamentary presence, the 1983 Liberals also retained a lot more experience on their front bench, political historian Josh Black said. There was "an obvious dearth of apparent talent" this time around, meaning the path forward would need to be different, he told AAP. Outgoing Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison was criticised in the aftermath of his 2022 defeat - at that time the party's worst in 70 years - for abandoning inner-city seats that were won by teal independents and instead targeting the outer suburbs. Mr Dutton has been accused of unsuccessfully trying the same playbook that backfired three years earlier. But the outer suburbs targeted by the coalition were no longer the working-class areas successfully won over by former Liberal prime minister John Howard, pollster Kos Samaras said. They were now incredibly diverse, often populated by young, immigrant families. Liberals who thought Howard-era thinking still prevailed were "quite ignorant of the Australia they live in", Mr Samaras said. The party needed to become more empathetic and tolerant, including by abandoning its perceived anti-immigration sentiments, he said. Young, working-class men of Indian heritage in their 20s and 30s, who on the face of it might vote Liberal, did not rally behind the party. When asked why, they would reply, "Oh, they don't like us", Mr Samaras added. "(The Liberals are) going to have to grab that dog whistle, dig a big hole and bury it and never dig it up again," he said. Some among the Liberals question how the party of Robert Menzies, which was formed in conjunction with the Australian Women's National League, also failed to appeal to the female demographic so badly. There was no clear start to the Liberals' women problem but rather decades of incremental decisions, Dr Black said. Challenges started emerging by the 1970s, when that generation of Liberal politicians were less comfortable sharing power with women compared to those in the Menzies era, he said. By the 1990s, the Liberals were adamant about not moving to a quota system for pre-selecting women despite the Labor Party making the change. Senior conservative Liberals also came out in the 2000s against issues like easier access to abortions, he said. "There are key milestones like this that meant by the 2010s, a real women problem had emerged," Dr Black added. Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh, one of the few Liberals to hold their outer-suburban seats, said her party had already heeded the message from the election by electing its first female leader. But it still needed to do a better job communicating what it stood for, she said. "We have beliefs that women would resonate with talking about equality for all, that's a core belief of the Liberal Party," she said. The Liberals also face a cultural shift, with support for the party plummeting among millennial and Gen Z voters, many of whom have turned to minor parties or independents. They included people who can't afford a house and the first generation facing a future in which they would be worse off than their parents, Mr Samaras said. That cohort of voters did not share the same views as baby boomers had when they were younger, he said, changing the Liberals path back to government compared to the post-Fraser years. The last time the Liberals were down as low, they were consigned to 13 years in opposition and five consecutive election defeats before Mr Howard's 1996 victory. Ms Ley has already made history once by becoming leader and she will need to do it again if she wants to avoid a repeat of the party's last stint in the wilderness. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, as the aphorism goes. For the Liberal Party, the lessons to be learned after a historic election defeat eerily resemble a re-run of a schooling the party received decades earlier. Women and young people abandoned the conservatives, multicultural communities lost faith and there was a prominent drop in support among metropolitan voters. Those findings from a 1983 review into the blistering election defeat of then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser mirror problems raised by party members after the party's 2025 loss. Fresh thinking was needed, the talents of women should be better utilised and there had to be better communication with young people, then-Liberal president John Valder found, noting parties that ignored change didn't survive. One of those points has been addressed after the most recent electoral defeat with the appointment of Sussan Ley as the first female leader of the federal Liberals. But she still faces a monumental challenge with a loss of frontbench talent and the need to re-establish what the Liberals stand for with voters, experts and party insiders say. The wipeout under Peter Dutton on May 3 was proportionally worse than Mr Fraser's defeat, reducing the Liberals to just 30 per cent of lower house seats - its worst position in the post-war era. In addition to their greater parliamentary presence, the 1983 Liberals also retained a lot more experience on their front bench, political historian Josh Black said. There was "an obvious dearth of apparent talent" this time around, meaning the path forward would need to be different, he told AAP. Outgoing Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison was criticised in the aftermath of his 2022 defeat - at that time the party's worst in 70 years - for abandoning inner-city seats that were won by teal independents and instead targeting the outer suburbs. Mr Dutton has been accused of unsuccessfully trying the same playbook that backfired three years earlier. But the outer suburbs targeted by the coalition were no longer the working-class areas successfully won over by former Liberal prime minister John Howard, pollster Kos Samaras said. They were now incredibly diverse, often populated by young, immigrant families. Liberals who thought Howard-era thinking still prevailed were "quite ignorant of the Australia they live in", Mr Samaras said. The party needed to become more empathetic and tolerant, including by abandoning its perceived anti-immigration sentiments, he said. Young, working-class men of Indian heritage in their 20s and 30s, who on the face of it might vote Liberal, did not rally behind the party. When asked why, they would reply, "Oh, they don't like us", Mr Samaras added. "(The Liberals are) going to have to grab that dog whistle, dig a big hole and bury it and never dig it up again," he said. Some among the Liberals question how the party of Robert Menzies, which was formed in conjunction with the Australian Women's National League, also failed to appeal to the female demographic so badly. There was no clear start to the Liberals' women problem but rather decades of incremental decisions, Dr Black said. Challenges started emerging by the 1970s, when that generation of Liberal politicians were less comfortable sharing power with women compared to those in the Menzies era, he said. By the 1990s, the Liberals were adamant about not moving to a quota system for pre-selecting women despite the Labor Party making the change. Senior conservative Liberals also came out in the 2000s against issues like easier access to abortions, he said. "There are key milestones like this that meant by the 2010s, a real women problem had emerged," Dr Black added. Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh, one of the few Liberals to hold their outer-suburban seats, said her party had already heeded the message from the election by electing its first female leader. But it still needed to do a better job communicating what it stood for, she said. "We have beliefs that women would resonate with talking about equality for all, that's a core belief of the Liberal Party," she said. The Liberals also face a cultural shift, with support for the party plummeting among millennial and Gen Z voters, many of whom have turned to minor parties or independents. They included people who can't afford a house and the first generation facing a future in which they would be worse off than their parents, Mr Samaras said. That cohort of voters did not share the same views as baby boomers had when they were younger, he said, changing the Liberals path back to government compared to the post-Fraser years. The last time the Liberals were down as low, they were consigned to 13 years in opposition and five consecutive election defeats before Mr Howard's 1996 victory. Ms Ley has already made history once by becoming leader and she will need to do it again if she wants to avoid a repeat of the party's last stint in the wilderness. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, as the aphorism goes. For the Liberal Party, the lessons to be learned after a historic election defeat eerily resemble a re-run of a schooling the party received decades earlier. Women and young people abandoned the conservatives, multicultural communities lost faith and there was a prominent drop in support among metropolitan voters. Those findings from a 1983 review into the blistering election defeat of then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser mirror problems raised by party members after the party's 2025 loss. Fresh thinking was needed, the talents of women should be better utilised and there had to be better communication with young people, then-Liberal president John Valder found, noting parties that ignored change didn't survive. One of those points has been addressed after the most recent electoral defeat with the appointment of Sussan Ley as the first female leader of the federal Liberals. But she still faces a monumental challenge with a loss of frontbench talent and the need to re-establish what the Liberals stand for with voters, experts and party insiders say. The wipeout under Peter Dutton on May 3 was proportionally worse than Mr Fraser's defeat, reducing the Liberals to just 30 per cent of lower house seats - its worst position in the post-war era. In addition to their greater parliamentary presence, the 1983 Liberals also retained a lot more experience on their front bench, political historian Josh Black said. There was "an obvious dearth of apparent talent" this time around, meaning the path forward would need to be different, he told AAP. Outgoing Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison was criticised in the aftermath of his 2022 defeat - at that time the party's worst in 70 years - for abandoning inner-city seats that were won by teal independents and instead targeting the outer suburbs. Mr Dutton has been accused of unsuccessfully trying the same playbook that backfired three years earlier. But the outer suburbs targeted by the coalition were no longer the working-class areas successfully won over by former Liberal prime minister John Howard, pollster Kos Samaras said. They were now incredibly diverse, often populated by young, immigrant families. Liberals who thought Howard-era thinking still prevailed were "quite ignorant of the Australia they live in", Mr Samaras said. The party needed to become more empathetic and tolerant, including by abandoning its perceived anti-immigration sentiments, he said. Young, working-class men of Indian heritage in their 20s and 30s, who on the face of it might vote Liberal, did not rally behind the party. When asked why, they would reply, "Oh, they don't like us", Mr Samaras added. "(The Liberals are) going to have to grab that dog whistle, dig a big hole and bury it and never dig it up again," he said. Some among the Liberals question how the party of Robert Menzies, which was formed in conjunction with the Australian Women's National League, also failed to appeal to the female demographic so badly. There was no clear start to the Liberals' women problem but rather decades of incremental decisions, Dr Black said. Challenges started emerging by the 1970s, when that generation of Liberal politicians were less comfortable sharing power with women compared to those in the Menzies era, he said. By the 1990s, the Liberals were adamant about not moving to a quota system for pre-selecting women despite the Labor Party making the change. Senior conservative Liberals also came out in the 2000s against issues like easier access to abortions, he said. "There are key milestones like this that meant by the 2010s, a real women problem had emerged," Dr Black added. Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh, one of the few Liberals to hold their outer-suburban seats, said her party had already heeded the message from the election by electing its first female leader. But it still needed to do a better job communicating what it stood for, she said. "We have beliefs that women would resonate with talking about equality for all, that's a core belief of the Liberal Party," she said. The Liberals also face a cultural shift, with support for the party plummeting among millennial and Gen Z voters, many of whom have turned to minor parties or independents. They included people who can't afford a house and the first generation facing a future in which they would be worse off than their parents, Mr Samaras said. That cohort of voters did not share the same views as baby boomers had when they were younger, he said, changing the Liberals path back to government compared to the post-Fraser years. The last time the Liberals were down as low, they were consigned to 13 years in opposition and five consecutive election defeats before Mr Howard's 1996 victory. Ms Ley has already made history once by becoming leader and she will need to do it again if she wants to avoid a repeat of the party's last stint in the wilderness. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, as the aphorism goes. For the Liberal Party, the lessons to be learned after a historic election defeat eerily resemble a re-run of a schooling the party received decades earlier. Women and young people abandoned the conservatives, multicultural communities lost faith and there was a prominent drop in support among metropolitan voters. Those findings from a 1983 review into the blistering election defeat of then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser mirror problems raised by party members after the party's 2025 loss. Fresh thinking was needed, the talents of women should be better utilised and there had to be better communication with young people, then-Liberal president John Valder found, noting parties that ignored change didn't survive. One of those points has been addressed after the most recent electoral defeat with the appointment of Sussan Ley as the first female leader of the federal Liberals. But she still faces a monumental challenge with a loss of frontbench talent and the need to re-establish what the Liberals stand for with voters, experts and party insiders say. The wipeout under Peter Dutton on May 3 was proportionally worse than Mr Fraser's defeat, reducing the Liberals to just 30 per cent of lower house seats - its worst position in the post-war era. In addition to their greater parliamentary presence, the 1983 Liberals also retained a lot more experience on their front bench, political historian Josh Black said. There was "an obvious dearth of apparent talent" this time around, meaning the path forward would need to be different, he told AAP. Outgoing Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison was criticised in the aftermath of his 2022 defeat - at that time the party's worst in 70 years - for abandoning inner-city seats that were won by teal independents and instead targeting the outer suburbs. Mr Dutton has been accused of unsuccessfully trying the same playbook that backfired three years earlier. But the outer suburbs targeted by the coalition were no longer the working-class areas successfully won over by former Liberal prime minister John Howard, pollster Kos Samaras said. They were now incredibly diverse, often populated by young, immigrant families. Liberals who thought Howard-era thinking still prevailed were "quite ignorant of the Australia they live in", Mr Samaras said. The party needed to become more empathetic and tolerant, including by abandoning its perceived anti-immigration sentiments, he said. Young, working-class men of Indian heritage in their 20s and 30s, who on the face of it might vote Liberal, did not rally behind the party. When asked why, they would reply, "Oh, they don't like us", Mr Samaras added. "(The Liberals are) going to have to grab that dog whistle, dig a big hole and bury it and never dig it up again," he said. Some among the Liberals question how the party of Robert Menzies, which was formed in conjunction with the Australian Women's National League, also failed to appeal to the female demographic so badly. There was no clear start to the Liberals' women problem but rather decades of incremental decisions, Dr Black said. Challenges started emerging by the 1970s, when that generation of Liberal politicians were less comfortable sharing power with women compared to those in the Menzies era, he said. By the 1990s, the Liberals were adamant about not moving to a quota system for pre-selecting women despite the Labor Party making the change. Senior conservative Liberals also came out in the 2000s against issues like easier access to abortions, he said. "There are key milestones like this that meant by the 2010s, a real women problem had emerged," Dr Black added. Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh, one of the few Liberals to hold their outer-suburban seats, said her party had already heeded the message from the election by electing its first female leader. But it still needed to do a better job communicating what it stood for, she said. "We have beliefs that women would resonate with talking about equality for all, that's a core belief of the Liberal Party," she said. The Liberals also face a cultural shift, with support for the party plummeting among millennial and Gen Z voters, many of whom have turned to minor parties or independents. They included people who can't afford a house and the first generation facing a future in which they would be worse off than their parents, Mr Samaras said. That cohort of voters did not share the same views as baby boomers had when they were younger, he said, changing the Liberals path back to government compared to the post-Fraser years. The last time the Liberals were down as low, they were consigned to 13 years in opposition and five consecutive election defeats before Mr Howard's 1996 victory. Ms Ley has already made history once by becoming leader and she will need to do it again if she wants to avoid a repeat of the party's last stint in the wilderness.
West Australian
16-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Why history might hold the answer for stricken Liberals
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, as the aphorism goes. For the Liberal Party, the lessons to be learned after a historic election defeat eerily resemble a re-run of a schooling the party received decades earlier. Women and young people abandoned the conservatives, multicultural communities lost faith and there was a prominent drop in support among metropolitan voters. Those findings from a 1983 review into the blistering election defeat of then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser mirror problems raised by party members after the party's 2025 loss. Fresh thinking was needed, the talents of women should be better utilised and there had to be better communication with young people, then-Liberal president John Valder found, noting parties that ignored change didn't survive. One of those points has been addressed after the most recent electoral defeat with the appointment of Sussan Ley as the first female leader of the federal Liberals. But she still faces a monumental challenge with a loss of frontbench talent and the need to re-establish what the Liberals stand for with voters, experts and party insiders say. The wipeout under Peter Dutton on May 3 was proportionally worse than Mr Fraser's defeat, reducing the Liberals to just 30 per cent of lower house seats - its worst position in the post-war era. In addition to their greater parliamentary presence, the 1983 Liberals also retained a lot more experience on their front bench, political historian Josh Black said. There was "an obvious dearth of apparent talent" this time around, meaning the path forward would need to be different, he told AAP. Outgoing Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison was criticised in the aftermath of his 2022 defeat - at that time the party's worst in 70 years - for abandoning inner-city seats that were won by teal independents and instead targeting the outer suburbs. Mr Dutton has been accused of unsuccessfully trying the same playbook that backfired three years earlier. But the outer suburbs targeted by the coalition were no longer the working-class areas successfully won over by former Liberal prime minister John Howard, pollster Kos Samaras said. They were now incredibly diverse, often populated by young, immigrant families. Liberals who thought Howard-era thinking still prevailed were "quite ignorant of the Australia they live in", Mr Samaras said. The party needed to become more empathetic and tolerant, including by abandoning its perceived anti-immigration sentiments, he said. Young, working-class men of Indian heritage in their 20s and 30s, who on the face of it might vote Liberal, did not rally behind the party. When asked why, they would reply, "Oh, they don't like us", Mr Samaras added. "(The Liberals are) going to have to grab that dog whistle, dig a big hole and bury it and never dig it up again," he said. Some among the Liberals question how the party of Robert Menzies, which was formed in conjunction with the Australian Women's National League, also failed to appeal to the female demographic so badly. There was no clear start to the Liberals' women problem but rather decades of incremental decisions, Dr Black said. Challenges started emerging by the 1970s, when that generation of Liberal politicians were less comfortable sharing power with women compared to those in the Menzies era, he said. By the 1990s, the Liberals were adamant about not moving to a quota system for pre-selecting women despite the Labor Party making the change. Senior conservative Liberals also came out in the 2000s against issues like easier access to abortions, he said. "There are key milestones like this that meant by the 2010s, a real women problem had emerged," Dr Black added. Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh, one of the few Liberals to hold their outer-suburban seats, said her party had already heeded the message from the election by electing its first female leader. But it still needed to do a better job communicating what it stood for, she said. "We have beliefs that women would resonate with talking about equality for all, that's a core belief of the Liberal Party," she said. The Liberals also face a cultural shift, with support for the party plummeting among millennial and Gen Z voters, many of whom have turned to minor parties or independents. They included people who can't afford a house and the first generation facing a future in which they would be worse off than their parents, Mr Samaras said. That cohort of voters did not share the same views as baby boomers had when they were younger, he said, changing the Liberals path back to government compared to the post-Fraser years. The last time the Liberals were down as low, they were consigned to 13 years in opposition and five consecutive election defeats before Mr Howard's 1996 victory. Ms Ley has already made history once by becoming leader and she will need to do it again if she wants to avoid a repeat of the party's last stint in the wilderness.
