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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-04 Daily Xml
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LIBERAL PARTY

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:51): I rise today to talk about an issue that should be of concern to all South Australians. I am talking about the perilous state of the Liberal Party in South Australia and how it is having a negative impact on our democracy.

You would be aware, Mr President, that South Australia currently has a very strong and vibrant government, which has a long-term vision, backed up by good policy initiatives. Compare that to the Liberal opposition, which is only a shadow of what it was in the 1970s. The Liberal Party does not know what it stands for, and it does not know what constituency it represents; hence its very poor policy agenda and lack of vision.

The Liberal Party's traditional constituents have deserted the party, as has the business community—I understand that Business SA does not even answer calls from the Liberal Party leadership—and donations to the Liberal Party have dried up because people see the Liberal Party as being inept and not worthy of becoming an alternative government. Also, the Liberal Party's country constituents have deserted the party, and with good cause. After the next election, we will find in this chamber no Liberal opposition member representing country interests.

Back in the 1970s, the rural constituency had a great representation in this chamber, but that has now ended. At present, the only people in this chamber who you could really say represent the rural constituency are the Hon. Mr Finnigan and the Hon. Mr Brokenshire. I know the Hon. Mr Brokenshire is glad to be out of the dog house of the Liberal Party. He is much more comfortable now representing the interests of Family First. While we do not want to go into the by-election in Frome, the fact that the Liberals lost that seat really shows how its constituency is turning its back on the Liberal Party.

When we look at the representation of women in the Liberal Party, both now and after the next election, we find that it is far behind the Labor Party in that regard. So, we can understand why women feel that their interests are not being well represented. In the Labor Party, it is required that there be at least 40 per cent representation of both genders within parliament. So, both good women and good men are guaranteed a position within parliament. I also want to examine the factional infighting within the Liberal Party. There would not be a—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: The Hon. Mr Ridgway interjects. I understand that members opposite know what a perilous state they are in, but they do not like listening to good advice on how to fix their problems. The reality is that the Labor Party has always had factions, and most of the time that situation has been very positive. There would not be a political party in this world that does not have factions. The only thing is that over the years the Liberal Party has denied their existence. The difference between the parties is that the Liberal Party factions are generational. You will find that some of the grudges from the 1970s and the 1980s are playing a role in the Liberal Party's current situation in this state.

The problem with this state is that their factional warlords are basically federal politicians, so you have Nick Minchin and Cory Bernardi who control the right and you also have Christopher Pyne who controls the left. Christopher Pyne recently described the result in Frome as only a minor hiccup but, in reality, it was a major burp which could be smelt and heard right throughout the chambers of this parliament. It actually started the scenario where—

Time expired.

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