Speaker 1: Already, and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS. Oh,
Speaker 1: now it makes sense.
Speaker 2: Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Monday,
Speaker 2: the twenty ninth of September. I'm Billy fitz Simons.
Speaker 1: I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 2: You may have seen headlines recently that there could be
Speaker 2: a possible challenger to the leadership of the Liberal Party.
Speaker 2: It's only been a few months since Susan Lee took
Speaker 2: over from Peter Dutton, becoming the first ever woman to
Speaker 2: lead the party. But Andrew Hasty, who is the Shadow
Speaker 2: Home Affairs Minister, has started expressing some frustration with the
Speaker 2: party's position on different issues like climate change and immigration.
Speaker 2: So why exactly is this happening and could there actually
Speaker 2: be a new leadership challenge already. We're going to explain
Speaker 2: all of that today, but first here is a quick
Speaker 2: message from our sponsor.
Speaker 1: See, it's been a bit of a roller coaster period
Speaker 1: for the Liberal Party for the coalition off the back
Speaker 1: of an election in May. Before we get into this
Speaker 1: kind of new leadership battle, there's some really important context
Speaker 1: to understand about those last few months. Can you give
Speaker 1: us a bit of a sense.
Speaker 2: It feels like the election was so long ago, it
Speaker 2: kind of does, but it was only in May. So
Speaker 2: the Liberal Party is right now in opposition after that
Speaker 2: election in May, and it was at that election that
Speaker 2: they suffered quite a catastrophic loss. It was one of
Speaker 2: their worst ever losses. Labor finished with more than double
Speaker 2: the number of seats of the Liberal and National parties
Speaker 2: who make up the coalition, so again, very bad result.
Speaker 2: Cannot emphasize how bad that result was for them. And
Speaker 2: since then the Liberal Party has really done a lot
Speaker 2: of soul searching and they still are in their soul
Speaker 2: searching era trying to exactly understand what went so wrong
Speaker 2: for them and why Australia rejected them to the extent
Speaker 2: that they did exactly.
Speaker 1: And the fallout of that rejection was this very brief breakup, yes,
Speaker 1: between the Liberal National coalition.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been a real tumultuous period for the coalition
Speaker 2: and yeah, there was that brief breakup. Another thing that
Speaker 2: happened is that the Liberal Party needed to quite quickly
Speaker 2: after the election find a new leader because Peter Dutton,
Speaker 2: who was the leader of the Liberal Party, he didn't
Speaker 2: just lead their party to one of their worst losses
Speaker 2: in history, as I've mentioned, but he also actually lost
Speaker 2: his own seat, which is extremely rare, and that meant
Speaker 2: that he was booted from politics, and so hence the
Speaker 2: leadership was vacant and they needed to find a new leader.
Speaker 1: And that leadership, that new leader is what we are
Speaker 1: talking about today. So Susan Lee was chosen to become
Speaker 1: the Liberal Party leader. She is the opposition leader, yes,
Speaker 1: but maybe not for long.
Speaker 2: Maybe not for long. So, like I said in the intro,
Speaker 2: her leadership was historic. She is the first woman to
Speaker 2: be the leader of the Liberal Party in its eighty
Speaker 2: year history. And I think one thing to understand here
Speaker 2: is that the appointment of Lee was not unanimous. It
Speaker 2: was between her and her colleague Angus Taylor. And what
Speaker 2: was interesting is that the party really needed to decide
Speaker 2: after this election what direction they were going to go
Speaker 2: in ideologically. So Susan Lee represented a more moderate side
Speaker 2: of the party, which was closer to the center of politics,
Speaker 2: and then Angus Taylor was more conservative and that was
Speaker 2: more aligned with Peter Duddon as well. The party chose
Speaker 2: Susan Lee, and I think that was broadly seen by
Speaker 2: the media and by the public as the Liberal Party
Speaker 2: deciding to move closer to the center after they had
Speaker 2: campaigned on policies under Peter Dudden that were further to
Speaker 2: the right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we saw historic losses, you know, not just across
Speaker 1: the board but in the major cities with women voters.
Speaker 1: So the appointment of Susan Lee was kind of this
Speaker 1: reaction to, Okay, well, whatever we said and did in
Speaker 1: the lead up to ballot day wasn't enough to convince
Speaker 1: voters across the board. So you know, how can we
Speaker 1: become a more appealing party and more appealing option to
Speaker 1: more Australians. And I think you know that's the thinking
Speaker 1: behind that more moderate leader. Yes, and so Billy, how
Speaker 1: do we go from that thinking, that soul searching to
Speaker 1: talking about the possibility of a new leader of the party.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think one thing I should also mention is
Speaker 2: that after every election, the party that loses usually will
Speaker 2: do a post election review to find out exactly what
Speaker 2: went wrong. And we still don't have the final on that,
Speaker 2: so they are kind of still in their soul searching era.
Speaker 2: And I think all of this speculation about whether or
Speaker 2: not there could be a new leader now is kind
Speaker 2: of part of that. And so the reason we're talking
Speaker 2: about it today is because, like we've alluded to, it
Speaker 2: looks like her leadership could be under threat. Now, to
Speaker 2: be clear, there hasn't been any explicit announcement or anything
Speaker 2: like that. I want to say that from the outset
Speaker 2: this is just speculation, but it's quite a lot of
Speaker 2: speculation that one of her colleagues, a man named Andrew Hasty,
Speaker 2: is basically preparing for a leadership challenge of some sort.
Speaker 1: I think it's interesting to kind of think about the
Speaker 1: fact that it's not necessarily a brand new idea in
Speaker 1: terms of the last couple of weeks that Susan Lee's
Speaker 1: leadership may be vulnerable. But what is new is that
Speaker 1: we have a name to put to the speculation. There
Speaker 1: has been weeks of instability, there have been weeks of
Speaker 1: questions about her tenure, But where has the speculation come
Speaker 1: from about Hasty specifically?
Speaker 2: So, Andrew Hasty is from the conservative wing of the party,
Speaker 2: just like Angus Taylor, who was the main contender after
Speaker 2: the election for the leadership, and also just like Peter
Speaker 2: Dutton was.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and a quick note there that within our major
Speaker 1: political parties the system works this way that you know,
Speaker 1: even in labor and as well. In the coalition there
Speaker 1: are factions. There's a complex kind of method and madness
Speaker 1: to the party caucus, and we see people further to
Speaker 1: the left and further to the right in each major party.
Speaker 2: Yes, and Andrew Hasty is in a different faction to
Speaker 2: Susan Lee. Now, quick context on Andrew Hasty, a very
Speaker 2: quick bio. He is a former soldier and he's currently
Speaker 2: the Shadow Home Affairs Minister, which is all about domestic policy.
Speaker 2: It's quite widely reported in the media that he wasn't
Speaker 2: stoked with that appointment. It was said that he kind
Speaker 2: of wanted to expand outside of security and defense, possibly
Speaker 2: wanted something like economics or education or health. But he
Speaker 2: didn't get that. And I think that's important context just
Speaker 2: to kind of set the scene that his relationship with
Speaker 2: Susan Lee is perhaps already on rocky grounds.
Speaker 1: But Billy, am I right in thinking him being appointed
Speaker 1: to the shadow cabinet is of significance and of itself.
Speaker 1: Not all ministers are appointed to the shadow cabinet that
Speaker 1: is perceived to be you know Susan Lee's top list
Speaker 1: of her most relied upon senior ministers.
Speaker 2: Yes, definitely, But I would also say that there could
Speaker 2: be other factors that play there, like the factions, politics
Speaker 2: within the politics. It's all gets very confusing, but definitely
Speaker 2: he was still given a role. Then in the past
Speaker 2: month or so, or even just in the past couple
Speaker 2: of weeks, he has started posting things to his social
Speaker 2: media accounts and he's also started giving radio interviews where
Speaker 2: he's kind of talking out of line with the official
Speaker 2: party positions and saying things that don't completely align with
Speaker 2: what his colleagues are saying. So, for example, he has
Speaker 2: started saying that the Coalition should abandon net zero if
Speaker 2: they are elected at the next election.
Speaker 3: I'll tell you what the key risks to our way
Speaker 3: of life is. The real risk is from these alarma, scientists, lobbyists,
Speaker 3: grifters and foreign businesses who benefit from the net zero transition.
Speaker 3: Since we've signed up to net zero, gas prices have
Speaker 3: gone up forty percent for Australian families, Electricity prices have
Speaker 3: gone up thirty percent for Australian families, and all the
Speaker 3: while we keep exporting coal, gas and other minerals. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's the hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Speaker 1: Now, this is a retric that has been pushed by
Speaker 1: a fair few Nationals politicians in recent weeks, but it's
Speaker 1: rarer for a Liberal politician to kind of step outside
Speaker 1: away from the party line.
Speaker 2: Exactly.
Speaker 1: Can you remind us quickly really what net zero actually means? Yeah?
Speaker 2: So net zero is the goal to reach a balance
Speaker 2: where the amount of green house gases that are being
Speaker 2: emitted into the atmosphere is the same as the amount
Speaker 2: being removed. And in Australia we have a goal to
Speaker 2: achieve net zero by twenty fifty and the Coalition went
Speaker 2: to the last election saying that they would maintain that goal. Okay, However,
Speaker 2: it has now emerged as a key part of contention
Speaker 2: within the Liberal Party and the National Party, So I
Speaker 2: guess within the Coalition as a whole about whether or
Speaker 2: not they will keep it under this new era under
Speaker 2: Susan Lee and Andrew Hasty is at the forefront of
Speaker 2: saying the party should abandon it. And not only is
Speaker 2: he saying that they should abandon it, he's basically alluded
Speaker 2: to saying that he would actually quit the front bench,
Speaker 2: so he would quit his position as the Shadow Home
Speaker 2: Affairs Minister if the party decides to stick with net zero.
Speaker 2: On Sky News earlier this month, when he was asked
Speaker 2: if he would quit, he said, it's a hypothetical question,
Speaker 2: but fundamentally, I wouldn't be much used to the coalition
Speaker 2: if I'm out the front trying to sell a policy
Speaker 2: I don't believe in Billy.
Speaker 1: It's pretty unusual, isn't it to see a politician go
Speaker 1: against their leader in such an explicit way, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that is what is important to remember
Speaker 2: here that in politics, or at least within parties, usually
Speaker 2: it is this rule that you have to stick to
Speaker 2: the party line position, which usually is set by your leader.
Speaker 2: And so what's unusual about this is that he's having
Speaker 2: these discussions with his leader kind of publicly instead of
Speaker 2: internally or privately, or perhaps he's having them internally, but
Speaker 2: it's rare that he's also having them so publicly and
Speaker 2: that they are disagreeing so publicly.
Speaker 1: And as a seasoned senior minister and politician, he would
Speaker 1: know the impact of those kind of public comments definitely
Speaker 1: destabilizing the perception of stability in the party.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And I also think what's interesting is that in Australia,
Speaker 2: I mean not in recent years, but if you look
Speaker 2: at kind of from the Gillard Rudd years, we went
Speaker 2: through such a period of politics within parties and.
Speaker 1: This perception of backstabbing.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, that none of the politicians within their own
Speaker 2: party could agree with each other, and it was really
Speaker 2: criticized by the public, you know, the public saying, you
Speaker 2: guys kind of need to get your stuff together because
Speaker 2: it's quite confusing that none of you are united.
Speaker 1: And then in the years sort of post that era,
Speaker 1: there has been a concerted effort from the major parties
Speaker 1: not to be seen to have that disharmony within their ranks.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's definitely seen as you know, disagree privately but
Speaker 2: put on a united front, and that is not what
Speaker 2: is happening right now with the coalition.
Speaker 1: So that's net zero. We know how Andrew Hasty feels
Speaker 1: about that policy agenda specifically, but has he spoken out
Speaker 1: on any other areas contradicting Susan Lee elsewhere.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll go through some of the other ones quickly.
Speaker 2: So he's also been very outspoken on immigration and saying
Speaker 2: that we need a slash net overseas migration. He's also
Speaker 2: spoken a lot about a desire to manufacture things in
Speaker 2: Australia and the way that he has spoken about those
Speaker 2: two issues have been along the more conservative lines than
Speaker 2: what the rest of his party has been saying.
Speaker 1: Okay, got it. And so then back to this kind
Speaker 1: of speculated leadership spill, his alleged ambition to become leader.
Speaker 1: What do we know most recently about that?
Speaker 2: So, at the time of recording, the most recent time
Speaker 2: that he was asked about it was on Thursday morning
Speaker 2: on TWOGB.
Speaker 1: A Sydney radio station.
Speaker 2: Yes, and when asked if he was happy under the
Speaker 2: leadership of Susan Lee, he said, look, I support Susan.
Speaker 2: Anyone who's speculating otherwise is being mischievous. My main concern
Speaker 2: is that the center right is fragmenting, So kind of
Speaker 2: shutting down the speculation, but still kind of hinting that
Speaker 2: he's not sure that the right side of politics is
Speaker 2: working at the moment.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's still a kind of provocative or inflammatory suggestion.
Speaker 2: Yes, And then when the host pushed him on this
Speaker 2: and asked if he has fear for the future of
Speaker 2: the Liberal Party specifically, he said yes. He said, I
Speaker 2: think unless we get our act together, we're going to
Speaker 2: be potentially in further decline and perhaps one day extinct.
Speaker 2: That's a pretty strong statement saying that at the way
Speaker 2: we're going, we actually could be extinct as a political
Speaker 2: movement in this country.
Speaker 1: When we are a country with a two party system.
Speaker 2: Yes, he also said that's why what we do over
Speaker 2: the next two years is so important. And there he's
Speaker 2: referring to the timeline of when the next election will
Speaker 2: be because in Australia we have three year cycles.
Speaker 1: You can really understand, Billy, I think where this speculation
Speaker 1: has come from when you look at that suggestion. He's
Speaker 1: not saying that he is happy with how things are going.
Speaker 1: He's not suggesting that it's all sunshine and rainbows in
Speaker 1: the Liberal Party. And you know whether or not he
Speaker 1: has ambitions. Clearly there is still a lot of instability.
Speaker 1: So where does all of this leave us.
Speaker 2: Billy, Essentially, it's a watch and wait. I think the
Speaker 2: main thing to keep an eye on is when the
Speaker 2: Liberal Party announces their energy policy, because that is clearly
Speaker 2: the one causing the most division amongst the party and
Speaker 2: amongst the coalition, and clearly, either way they go, it
Speaker 2: appears they will be upset within the party and that
Speaker 2: could potentially result in a leadership spill.
Speaker 1: Do we know when to expect that energy policy.
Speaker 2: They have not given us an any timelines. I think
Speaker 2: I presume that we will get that policy after we
Speaker 2: get the final report that I mentioned earlier that will
Speaker 2: explain what exactly went so wrong for the coalition at
Speaker 2: that election. So I think it's after they do that
Speaker 2: post mortem that they'll then look at what the future
Speaker 2: looks like.
Speaker 1: Interesting. Well, we will keep our eyes closely on the future,
Speaker 1: and it seems like it could be a throwback to
Speaker 1: the twenty ten. When you say the words leadership's phil
Speaker 1: I think that gets everyone's attention. Philly. Thank you so
Speaker 1: so much for breaking that one down for us. Thank
Speaker 1: you and thank you for listening to today's episode. We'll
Speaker 1: be back a little later on with your afternoon news headlines,
Speaker 1: but until then, have a great day.
Speaker 3: My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Adunda
Speaker 3: Bungelung Kalkotin woman from Gadigl Country.
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