Former leader and deputy leader Jeremy Hanson says the party should have done better when there was genuine mood for change in the electorate. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
UPDATED 4:30 pm: Returned Murrumbidgee MLA Jeremy Hanson has confirmed that he will challenge Elizabeth Lee for the leadership of the Canberra Liberals.
A former leader and deputy leader, Mr Hanson would not criticise Ms Lee’s performance but said the party should have done better when there was genuine mood for change in the electorate
“I don’t think that we gave a good enough reason for people to make that change with us,” he said.
Mr Hanson said there were missed opportunities and some policies weren’t tested enough or released soon enough to give candidates time to litigate them.
Nor were the government’s shortcomings prosecuted effectively.
“We’ve got to make sure that what we’re saying resonates with the community,” he said.
“We’ve also got to point out some of the genuine concerns I think that people feel about this government.”
The decriminalisation of methamphetamines and heroin, and infill development were two such issues.
Asked why the party should look back to him, Mr Hanson said he would bring experience, competence and credibility to the role.
“You’ve got to look like you can be chief minister and run a large budget and a territory and can handle it, and I believe that I’ve demonstrated that,” he said.
Mr Hanson said talk about the party having to become more progressive was a false argument that only served the interest of the Labor Party.
He said it was a non-issue with voters who were concerned about basic issues.
Conservative Liberals such as him, Leanne Castley and Peter Cain topped the vote in their electorates.
“I think we’ve got to move forward as a united party, and I think we’ve got to stop having these endless conversations about whether we’re conservative, whether we’re progressive or whatever,” he said.
“We are a ‘liberal’ party. We are a centre-right party, and we’re focused on centrist issues that matter to the people of Canberra; in particular, families in the suburbs and retirees where, you know, the Liberal vote is very strong.
“We’ve got to be a party that accepts that we are a big tent … and if we don’t do that, then we won’t win in 2028.”
Mr Hanson said that while the Liberals did not take government in 2016 with him as leader, he achieved the greatest number of seats the party had ever won (11) and almost won 12 during a politically difficult time.
He said he was now much more experienced and better politician.
Mr Hanson also made the case that the leader’s bounce would be more valuable outside of Kurrajong where winning three seats was almost impossible.
The best chances for the Liberals achieving that was in Murrumbidgee or Yerrabi, more logical places for the leader to be, he said.
Mr Hanson said he had spoken to a number of colleagues who would support him but could not say if he had the numbers to win in what is a small and closely divided party room.
Mr Hanson lost the deputy leadership last December after a party room spill, in which Leanne Castley emerged as the winner.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee conceding on Saturday night. Some Liberals believe she was premature in putting up the white flag. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The fate of any challenge rests in how the party room will shape up after the final seats are decided.
The Liberals could have 10 or nine seats in the new Legislative Assembly, depending on the outcome in Brindabella where there is a three-way tussle for the fifth seat.
On Saturday night, it appeared James Daniels would secure a third seat for the Liberals with a big early swing, but as the count continues, both the Greens’ Laura Nuttall and Labor’s Mick Gentleman have come back into reckoning.
Mr Daniels had the backing of moderate Gary Humphries, so he would likely strengthen Ms Lee’s hand, as would the demise of Hanson supporter Ed Cocks in Murrumbidgee, who is battling it out with Amardeep Singh for a second Liberal seat.
But if Mr Daniels fails to make it, the return of Mr Cocks combined with newcomer Chiaka Barry in Ginninderra could make the difference in such a closely divided party room.
Party figures have come out against lurching back to the right.
On election night, retiring MLA Nicole Lawder said that some in the party were more interested in wielding power than winning elections, pointing the finger at powerful players who have pushed the party too far to the right.
On Sunday, Ms Lee, who dragged the party to the centre in a bid to be more palatable to the electorate, agreed.
“I don’t think she’s wrong,” Ms Lee said.
“Obviously, there is a lot of work to do to make us electable, and certainly, one of the things that I’ve had in terms of feedback has been, ‘Thank you for, you know, making the party more electable’.”
The party so far has suffered a 1 per cent swing against it and could not replicate its 4.5 per cent swing to it in Brindabella elsewhere.
Frontbencher Mark Parton, who polled highest in that seat, also agreed with Ms Lawder’s assessment and warned against any move back to the right, throwing his full support behind Ms Lee.
“I think it would apply to some party members and I would say to those members who are sitting back saying, ‘Oh, we’ve got to push off hard to the right’, where is it that you guys expect that we would pick up those extra votes because there were a couple of parties and individuals who are much further to the right than the Liberals who ran in the election and they haven’t fared well at all,” he told the ABC.
“So sure, we might gather some votes from Family First or the Belco Party. Where else do you reckon we’re going to get votes from? Do you think if we push to the right that we’re going to get votes from the Greens? Do you think we’re going to get votes from Labor? Like, get a grip here?”
Mr Parton said the centre was the only place from where the Liberals could win an election in the ACT.
A senior party source said Mr Hanson was not the right choice to take the party into the future.
“Jeremy’s about as good with his numbers as he is with party unity,” they said.
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