Latest news with #Wolahan
The Age
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
14 Coalition MPs lost their seats at the election. One already has a new job
The federal election was only on May 3, but one vanquished Liberal MP has already found a new job. Or make that a new-old job. Defeated Coalition MPs who don't have an investment portfolio or private family company to fall back on face a tough job market, considering the strength of the Labor victory. Which boss wants to hire someone on the losing side of an electoral landslide, particularly when the Albanese era could stretch beyond the electoral horizon? Taking matters into his own hands is Keith Wolahan, the Liberal Party bright young thing who lost the outer Melbourne seat of Menzies to Labor's Gabriel Ng after one term. Wolahan has applied and successfully been readmitted to the Victorian Bar's practising roll. Cannily, Wolahan, who notably brushed aside long-standing Liberal MP Kevin Andrews in a memorable preselection, remained a lawyer while in federal parliament although he obviously couldn't practise. Now, the 47-year-old former army commando has taken up a position in Dever's List, the grouping of 250-odd barristers that traces itself back to 1860, when Theophilos Druce began operating as the barristers' clerk. The grouping of lawyers has had a Dever associated with it since 1946. John Dever, Phil Dever and Michael Dever still act as barristers' clerks for the list today. Wolahan fronted the ABC's Insiders on the morning after the massive defeat, keeping a commitment even though he looked like losing his own seat, using the appearance to gently remind his withered husk of a party that most Australians live in the cities. 'The law has always been my profession,' Wolahan told CBD.
News.com.au
04-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Ousted Liberal MP Keith Wolahan says Liberal Party needs to win back city voters after May 3 election defeat
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.'
Sky News AU
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Federal Election 2025: 'Didn't have policy that resonated': Coalition MPs give brutal assessment of campaign but proposed paths forward differ wildly
Two federal Liberal MPs have laid out conflicting strategies for the Coalition to return to government as the party struggles to come to terms with its catastrophic loss. The Albanese government achieved a thumping election victory on Saturday night as the federal Coalition was all but wiped out in Australia's major cities. South Australian Liberal Senator gave a brutal assessment of the Coalition's campaign, stating the conservative side of Australian politics had 'let Australians down'. 'I don't think the campaign was of any sort of quality at all, frankly. I mean, I think it simply didn't have policy that resonated,' Senator Antic said. 'We sent the troops into battle without ammunition… I think that is the number one problem.' Senator Antic said that many of the policies the Coalition did have were 'reminiscent of a mobile phone contract'. 'You know, for the first 12 months, you will get something free,' he said. 'There was a whole host of things, which I don't mean to be flippant about, but... I would hear things like we're going to cut fuel excise, and I would think, 'Great, but why only for 12 months?'". But the South Australian Senator said the Coalition's loss could not entirely be attributed to the campaign, accusing his colleagues of not wanting their leader to win. 'What I do know is that this rot will never be explainable simply in the last four weeks,' he said. "And look, I think the other thing you need to say is that I think there are people inside the party who didn't want Peter to become the Prime Minister". Asked about the path forward for the Liberal Party, Senator Antic said they needed to follow the path laid out by US President Donald Trump. 'We've seen it in the United States, the Republican party is stronger under a stronger conservative leader, and I think the same is true here,' he said. 'People are hardwired to vote red or blue in this country. It's like a game of football. There's only red and blue on the field, and everyone else is in the stands shouting. 'What we have to do... Is make sure that we make the Liberal Party great again'. This proposed solution was in stark contrast to the advice of Liberal MP Keith Wolahan – the member for Menzies in Melbourne's outer east, whose seat is currently too close to call. Mr Wolahan - a former barrister and special forces soldier - is viewed in high regard by many of his colleagues but the former barrister and special forces soldier said retaining it was now 'a long shot'. 'It's more likely than not that I will lose it, but not at the conceding stage yet,' the Victorian MP told ABC's Insiders. Far from calling for an embrace of Trump-style politics, Mr Wolahan said the global uncertainty the US president's policies had caused had hurt the Coalition. However, he largely shared Senator Antic's views about the campaign. 'I think with what's happened in the United States, people are looking for predictability again, and if you're putting policies to the electorate in the final few weeks of a campaign, they feel like it's unpredictable,' the MP said. Mr Wolahan said the Coalition needed to focus on regaining the trust of Australians in the major cities, where the party had been almost entirely wiped out over the past two election cycles. 'Our party has an issue in urban Australia, which is where most people live - most people live in cities – so we need to turn our mind to that like we have never done before,' he said 'We need to really dig deep and think about who we are and who we fight for and who makes up Australia.' The former soldier and barrister named professional women, younger people who worried they'll never own their own home, and multicultural Australians who don't have a memory of the Howard-Costello era, as key groups the Liberal Party needed to focus on. 'We need to acknowledge the cities that we live in, not the cities that we used to live in, or think that we live in,' he said. The Menzies MP declined to go into specifics about what policies had contributed to the Coalition's defeat, stating they needed to be looked at through a serious and comprehensive review. But Mr Wolahan did call out his party for being too focused on the past and failing to 'provide a vision of hope for the country'. 'I think as a party, we're very nostalgic. We look back to our heroes, whether it's Menzies or Howard or Costello, and that's great. But I think we need more than the rear-view mirror,' he said. 'I think we need to look through the windscreen and say this country's best days are ahead of it, and we can be a force for good about aspiration, opportunity and hope. 'If we do that again, I think the Liberal Party has a bright future. 'If we are true to our values, and we prosecute the case early, and some of the things we need to prosecute are, how do we address debt, how do we address productivity in this country. 'And if we do that in a constructive way and early, run the case, run the arguments, I think then Australians will trust us that we may be given the authority to be in government one day, but we have to earn that back again.'
Perth Now
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Ousted Lib's warning to battered party
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. Keith Wolahan said the Liberal Party needed to appeal to urban voters, following the party's bruising loss. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia '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. Mr Wolahan said the party needed to better represent voters who live in capital cities, as well as women and professional people. Adam Head / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 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.'
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ousted Lib's warning to battered party
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.'
