The moderates and the conservatives - the state of the NSW Liberal Party (1 Viewer)

[Generator]

Young Lib taunts the wets: go to the Greens

Young Lib taunts the wets: go to the Greens
By Alan Mascarenhas
May 18, 2005


The national president of the Young Liberals has called for a conservative overhaul of the NSW Liberal Party, arguing it is indecisive, lacks a "clear ideological cut-out" and is in need of new talent.

Alex Hawke, 27, a leading figure of the Right and a staffer for the upper house MP David Clarke, told the Herald the party should adopt tougher stands on social issues such as drugs and abortion so "people know what we stand for".

"I take the view that in the state Liberal Party … we don't have a clear, ideological cut-out," Mr Hawke said. "Federally, we've done it. Nobody can argue that we're not tough on [illegal] refugees, or that we don't take a tough-on-drugs approach, whereas at State level we try to be in a lot of places at once. We haven't carved out our own niche."

He denounced party moderates, more liberal on social issues. "Nobody joins the Liberal Party to be left-wing," Mr Hawke said. "If you stand for compulsory student unionism, drug-injecting rooms and lowering the [homosexual] age of consent, you can choose the Greens, Labor or the Democrats."

He later denied that his criticism extended to the state leader, John Brogden, a moderate who has previously supported injecting-room trials and lowering the homosexual age of consent.

Mr Hawke unfavourably compared the quality of state Liberal MPs with their federal counterparts. "It's time that we got serious about state politics … we need to have some renewal there."

His candid comments have exposed the increasingly bitter rift between the party's moderate and Christian conservative wings.

Election results for the state executive are expected on Friday, with the Right tipped to win an outright majority. Should the Right triumph, it will exert greater influence over state and federal preselections and may gradually be able to shape the party's policies. Several moderate Liberal MPs are likely to be in danger of losing their preselections, including John Ryan, Patricia Forsythe and Don Harwin.

Mr Hawke's tactics have been criticised as "frightening and intimidating" by Betty Mihic, the former president of the Petersham-Lewisham branch. But Mr Hawke has denied any involvement in branch-stacking.

"I'm about a long-term philosophical shift in the Liberal Party to the right," he said. "I do not shrink from signing up people who believe in conservative agendas and the free market. I'll sign as many as I can up every day of the week."

Mr Brogden said last night he had always regarded the Liberal Party as a big tent.

"Sixty years ago the Liberal Party was founded to embrace liberal and conservative views in Australia and it continues to do so today. All members of the Liberal Party must be focused on winning the next election and not on internal party affairs."

Interesting. Which would you prefer, an apparently uneasy alliance between the liberals and the conservatives, or a clear cut conservative party? Perhaps, in time, this may lead to the emergence of a third political party of some import in our state.

 

[katie_tully]

From what I gather though, our government will never allow there to be a 3rd party with substantial power. It's always been the two main parties, Lib and Labor. They seem to squash any other party that moves ranks.

If it happened, it'd be interesting to see a centre party.

 

[katietheskatie]

We then have an ultranationalist party (shoving christianity down our throats and incarcerating refugees is not conservative, its extremist), a centre-to-extremist socialist party (labor) and this third centre-moderate party.
.

i wasn't aware that the liberal party particularly shoved christianity down our throats. not to the extent of the republican party in america, anyway.

it's a good idea in theory, but it'll never happen. it's pretty much always going to be between liberal and labor.

 

[frog12986]

Alexander Hawke is quite a respectable leader, however I believe he has created something that is quite unecessary. There will always be left and right factions of any political party, and to suggest that every member must support every minute ideological stance is rather narrow-minded.... All I can say is don't start a storm in a tea cup... it will only be damaging...


And Asq... there are a million other threads on Asylum Seekers... and they are in fact breaking the law and procedures that are in place to ensure that undesirables are not afforded citizenship... but that is another topic for another thread...

 

[katie_tully]

He is from the right of the liberal party. That says alot about his perspective on life.

Ooh ... you said the right. I had my pitchfork out.

 

[Iron]

there are a million other threads on Asylum Seekers... and they are in fact breaking the law and procedures that are in place to ensure that undesirables are not afforded citizenship... but that is another topic for another thread...

German Jews were breaking Nazi laws for existing.

 

[withoutaface]

Do the Progressive Libs still exist at USYD?

 

[ohne]

Alex Hawke seems like a right wing extremist to me. I can understand some of his views being Christian, eg abortion, age of consent etc. But his views on asylum seekers and war in Iraq are not what I would describe as Christian.

His arguments about the Liberal Party having to be "clear cut" are nonsense. You don't see people in the ALP asking the NSW Right to disband because they are not "clear cut".

It looks like the right will take control of the NSW Liberal Party in the ballot as they already control the women's council and young liberals. It is a shame as the moderate faction has produced some greate leaders like Nick Griener and Peter Collins.

David Clarke is a very right wing politician. I don't think there is anyone in Australian politics who referred to God and Christianity as much in his maiden speech. You can read it here:

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/0/babd384f3ee9ee2cca256d050017172c/$FILE/David%20Clarke.pdf

It is OK to hold socially conservative views, but religion and politics really should be separate.

 

[ohne]

There are Communists or former Communists within the Greens. I am not sure about the ALP.

There are left and right wing extremists within both major parties, but the fact that someone who views politics as merely a tool for expressing religious views is gaining support within a major party in NSW is deeply disturbing.

I think when Ruddock chooses to retire you will have a new MP in the mold of David Clarke, unless the moderates improve their branch stacking.

 

[Xayma]

And this is why I never went so far as to join the young Liberals. If the Liberals become more dry, then I might give up and go for the Democrats.

 

[Iron]

The Nats are even dryer, but that's on account of the drought.

 

[withoutaface]

Hawkey's a bit of a nutcase I agree, but the 'official' policies of the NSW wing of the Young Libs are a little more wet:
* Supports the full privatisation of Telstra.

* Opposes the trials of heroin injecting rooms.

* Believes that the Federal Government should protect marriage as an institution between husband and wife.

* Supports the privatisation of the ABC and SBS.

* Calls on the NSW Division to continue the approach of not preferencing parties which support the legalisation of drugs in all future Federal, State and Local Government elections.

* Calls on the Federal Government to remove service delivery from ATSIC's control, restructure ATSIC to become an advocacy and policy body, dismiss the current ATSIC board and replace it with a smaller more accountable board, return responsibility and funding for the delivery of basic services to the appropriate State or Commonwealth Government department.

* Supports John Howard's handling of the Iraq crisis.

* Supports Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU).

* Supports work-for-the-dole.

* Condemns the actions of those asylum seekers who destroyed Commonwealth property in detention centres and calls for their immediate deportation.

* Calls upon the Federal Government to revoke the tax -exempt status of all donations over $2 to Greenpeace.

* Supports the NSW Liberal’s policy to introduce school codes of discipline that would ban swearing at teachers, the use of mobile phones or CD players in class and enforce the wearing of uniforms.

* Believes our uranium reserves must be utilised for Australia’s maximum benefit.

* Opposes Affirmative Action.

Still rather dry though, I agree.

 

[ohne]

Watermelons?

The Greens have certainly become less environmental in recent years. They are increasingly a haven for people on the left discontented with the ALPs move to the right over the past 20 years.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Hawkey's a bit of a nutcase I agree, but the 'official' policies of the NSW wing of the Young Libs are a little more wet:
* Supports the full privatisation of Telstra.

* Opposes the trials of heroin injecting rooms.

* Believes that the Federal Government should protect marriage as an institution between husband and wife.

* Supports the privatisation of the ABC and SBS.

* Calls on the NSW Division to continue the approach of not preferencing parties which support the legalisation of drugs in all future Federal, State and Local Government elections.

* Calls on the Federal Government to remove service delivery from ATSIC's control, restructure ATSIC to become an advocacy and policy body, dismiss the current ATSIC board and replace it with a smaller more accountable board, return responsibility and funding for the delivery of basic services to the appropriate State or Commonwealth Government department.

* Supports John Howard's handling of the Iraq crisis.

* Supports Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU).

* Supports work-for-the-dole.

* Condemns the actions of those asylum seekers who destroyed Commonwealth property in detention centres and calls for their immediate deportation.

* Calls upon the Federal Government to revoke the tax -exempt status of all donations over $2 to Greenpeace.

* Supports the NSW Liberal’s policy to introduce school codes of discipline that would ban swearing at teachers, the use of mobile phones or CD players in class and enforce the wearing of uniforms.

* Believes our uranium reserves must be utilised for Australia’s maximum benefit.

* Opposes Affirmative Action.

I'm not sure you understand the wet/dry distinction....

 

[withoutaface]

Wets being the progressives and dries being the hard-line conservatives? My point was that it had nothing on issues such as the homosexual age of consent and abortion, both issues which Hawke has taken an extremely conservative stance on.

 

[leetom]

* Supports the privatisation of the ABC and SBS. .

Good God . What do they hope to achieve from that?

 

[golfstick]

That young libs guy is an absolute moron.

I am a liberal voter too.

 

[neo o]

That young libs guy is an absolute moron.

No he isn't. Hell, I know the guy. The article is just a reflection of the current battle royale between the conservative and "moderate" factions of the NSW Young Liberal Party (Alex was leader of the NSW division last year). I'm not sure how this got into the SMH to be honest, since it sounds almost exactly like what he says to new members that he signs up (i.e. it's nothing noone didn't know about) but it's nothing that warrants the stupid one-liners in this thread.

 

[withoutaface]

Good God . What do they hope to achieve from that?

My thoughts exactly. From those policies I'd probably disagree with four of them and semi agree with another.

 

[katie_tully]

Oh come on neo read his maiden speech.

- 'I find it an honour to be serving inthe same house as the Rev Fred Nile...I identify with many of the values that he has courageously fought for...'

- I love god. Thank god

- Changing values. My job is to keep those values. God is great.

-I love the monarchy

- Union jack three christian crosses should be on our flag

- God does lots of stuff for us

- UN is bad. John Howard is good

- Must combat communism.

- I hate gays

- I love Peirce Akerman

- 'Alan Jones represents the mainstream'

- I love Professor David Flint (But isnt he Alan Jones Boy Pal?)

- I love Bishops Pell and Jensen.

- I love Tony Abbot, Helen Coonan and Bill Heffernan (homophobe)

- I will uphold conservative christian values.

What's bad about that is I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. This guy gives liberals a bad name, because contrary to popular belief we aren't all bible bashing, psychotic, irrational, Queen loving, God fearing or homophobic...