Turnbull government frontbencher Angus Taylor will use a forum on party reform in New South Wales on Saturday to count Malcolm Turnbull among proponents of democratising party preselections, and will warn those pushing the reform case not to not overreach or descend into personal abuse.
Taylor will tell Saturday’s forum he was “delighted, and it came as no surprise whatsoever, when the prime minister, consistent with previous comments, and being a person of high intelligence, said this week that he supported reform along the lines of what has occurred in Victoria”.
He will also try to build bridges with moderates who are resisting calls to make plebiscites the vehicle for determining preselections by warning people pushing the pro-reform case to pursue their arguments respectfully and desist from personal attacks against various individuals.
Taylor will say it is important “not to make [criticism] personal and to be respectful of those against you at all times”. Individuals on the other side of the debate “believe they are on the right side of the debate”.
“We must respect others and we must not point the finger,” he will say. “Our arguments stand well and truly on their own.”
Saturday’s forum has been organised by the president of Tony Abbott’s federal electoral conference, Walter Villatora.
The forum is one response to vociferous complaints from the Liberal party’s right faction about the role of party lobbyists aligned with leading moderates in party affairs and preselections.
The event has been convened to discuss a “one member, one vote” resolution being pursued by the Warringah conference. Abbott is scheduled to speak on Saturday.
The democratisation issue – which has been bubbling away behind the scenes for months – blew up in the regular party room meeting of Liberal MPs on Tuesday when Abbott took on the prime minister, and tussled with other colleagues, before being slapped down by the defence industry minister, Christopher Pyne, for raising state organisational issues in Canberra.
News of the discussion quickly leaked, prompting Abbott to rebuke his party room colleagues in an interview with Guardian Australia late on Tuesday. “The fact that people readily leak pejorative stuff to damage colleagues is pretty dishonourable I think,” the former prime minister said.
Abbott challenged Turnbull in the party room, and has subsequently challenged him publicly, to lead the reform case and sign on to the Warringah proposal at the looming annual general meeting of the NSW division of the Liberal party.
But Taylor’s comments to Saturday’s forum, which appear to be a reference to comments Turnbull made during the party room debate this week, already count the prime minister solidly in the reform column.
The prime minister has previously, publicly, expressed in-principle support for the Victorian system, which is a plebiscite system for preselections – but some party sources thought his contribution in the party room this week was more equivocal.
Taylor will say on Saturday that momentum is building for party reform, and will warn that rejecting reform now “at a time when politicians seriously are on the nose, when faith in mainstream parties is low and getting lower, when voters and supporters in outer metros and regional areas are wrestling with their faith in the conservative side of politics – will throw the NSW party into a serious tail spin”.
Some in the pro-reform camp are concerned the debate could easily shift from the substance of the issues in NSW to a proxy war about unresolved leadership tensions in Canberra, a development that could derail the substantive conversation.
Taylor will use his contribution to argue the focus must remain on what’s good for the Liberal party, and not fall into a winner-takes-all death match.
“These reforms are about the Liberal party. It is not about individuals. It is not about individuals who are against reform, and it is not about individuals who are in favour of it,” he will say.
“If we overreach in our demands, it will be seen as seeking to implement a personal agenda, and frankly, we lose.”
Liberal party sources say one reform option would be to phase in plebiscites through an opt-in system, a form of grandfathering, that would allow incumbent MPs to determine whether they wanted to open the field or not.
Taylor’s comments reference that possibility. He says the democratisation proposal needs to level the playing field, and not benefit one faction at the expense of another.
“The changes must respect the current incumbency of all parliamentarians from all interests and on all sides of the debate,” he will say. “In essence they must respect everyone in the party and must be fair to everyone in the party.”
Turnbull was invited to Saturday’s event but won’t attend because he has another commitment. However, he has sent a video message which includes remarks about modernising the party.
