Tony Abbott says the Liberal party needs to place itself firmly on the side of western civilisation against its critics, and resist the “cultural cowardice” that has penetrated the heart of Australian institutions.
With Malcolm Turnbull departing the country for his first face-to-face meeting with the US president Donald Trump, the former prime minister used a speech on Wednesday night to argue his party needed to be less a party of management and more a party of values if it wanted to appeal to disaffected voters.
Abbott said in a speech to the Western Australian Liberal party that Australians had every reason to be proud of traditional values and “the broader western civilisation of which we are part”; and he sought to draw a distinction between timid officialdom and the “outsiders” alienated from mainstream politics.
“While officialdom wrings its hands in nervous self-doubt about anything that might be labelled anti-youth, anti-women, anti-black or, perhaps worst of all, anti-Muslim, Australians show what they think of our country’s knockers by turning out in ever increasing numbers and ever greater enthusiasm on Anzac Day,” Abbott said.
The former prime minister said almost no contemporary politician communicated in a clarion way with voters in the manner of Robert Kennedy in the 1960s. He declared the “march of identity politics” had captured centre-left politics, and rendered it unable to represent the interests of working people.
“The leaders of centre-left political parties no longer even mention, let alone celebrate, the abiding virtues and benefits of western civilisation,” Abbott said.
“The march of identity politics has rendered today’s left-of-centre politicians incapable of appealing to the west’s high culture as the best antidote to racism and to all other forms of discrimination.”
“Indeed in scarcely a generation, at least on one side of politics, discrimination has gone from a fundamental evil to an actual necessity in the fight against racism, sexism and Islamophobia.”
Abbott delivered a pointed backhander to Turnbull by noting that it was good that the prime minister had “recently” taken to emphasising Australian values “and is proposing to ensure that all new citizens are left in no doubt whatsoever about our demand for their commitment to the rule of law, parliamentary democracy and recognition of universal rights and freedoms.”
He said it was good “the government is not further funding the insidious and corrupting so-called Safe Schools program which is social-engineering masquerading as anti-bullying.”
And after conceding the Howard government had failed to act, and his own government had engaged in what he characterised as a “tactical retreat” on overhauling section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act – Abbott said it was also “good” the Turnbull government had recently asked the parliament to remove “offending” and “insulting” from the RDA.
Abbott declared the conservative side of politics was now the better political representative for working families because the left had abandoned the pursuit of economic opportunity.
“When it’s not making excuses for militant unions or welfarism, Labor is consumed by the Green left’s theology of climate change and identity,” Abbott said.
“Indeed, the one senior Labor figure still demonstrative about making it better to work for a living is Mark Latham who’s now more welcome at Liberal party meetings than Labor ones.”
Abbott said it would help the Liberal party politically if it championed the values of western civilisation, and upheld “Australian values against the politically correct wreckers and cynics.”
But he said the Liberal party shouldn’t assert traditional values to win elections, it should assert traditional values “because it’s right.”
Abbott said ordinary Australians “know that Gospel values are the best way to live” and that freedom of speech had created a civilisation.
Reflecting on his own tenure as prime minister, Abbott argued he tried to stress what Australians “have in common over our differences”.
“I sought to be less a party boss and more a national leader. I tried to avoid giving offence in the full knowledge that, on some issues, offence will still be taken and there is little common ground to find.
“Often enough, indeed, a leader’s job is to take a stand and to wear the consequences.”
He warned conservatives could not be all things to all people. “Conservatives value courtesy but we can’t avoid being strong and clear on all the big issues of our day.
“The risk in trying to be all things to everyone is to end up nothing to anyone.”
Abbott’s intervention in WA followed a separate public outing earlier in the day where he warned that the government’s so-called Gonski 2.0 funding reforms would face vigorous debate in the party room.
He said the Liberal party should not undermine parental choice of schools.
The former prime minister’s continuing public interventions come as the government has engaged in major deck clearing ahead of next week’s budget, in an effort to find clear air for its annual economic statement.
Abbott claimed on Wednesday night his public activities were designed to strengthen the Liberal party. “I want the Liberal/National coalition to be re-elected. I want it ever to be the case that to be an Australian is to have won the lottery of life.”
He claimed the best way to achieve that end was for him to “speak candidly, based on what I’ve learned and how I’ve changed and how all of us can improve.”
Abbott said when you don’t have to manage a party, or run a country, “it’s easier to see the failings of our political system because it’s no longer all your fault and your responsibility instantly to fix.”
