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Moderates (Liberal Party of Australia)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 12 min

Moderate Faction
Modern Liberals
Ideology
Political positionCentre to centre-right
House of Representatives
9 / 40
(2023 seats)
Senate
6 / 24
(2024 seats)
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Liberalism in Australia
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The Moderates,[1][2] also known as Modern Liberals,[3][4] Small-L Liberals[5] or Liberal Left,[6] are a faction comprising the members, supporters and voters of the Liberal Party of Australia who are typically economically, socially and environmentally liberal.[7][8][9] The faction has been described as centre[6][10][11] to centre-right.[12] The faction has supported ideologies such as economic liberalism, centrism and social liberalism, having a combination of economically liberal and socially progressive views. Since May 2025, the offices of Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition have been occupied by Sussan Ley, who is the first woman to hold either position. She is a member of the Moderates and identifies as a republican, as do many other members of the Liberal Party.[13][14]

They compete with the Liberal Party's other two major factions: the Centre Right and the National Right.

Geographical base

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Moderate Liberals often represent inner-city and wealthy House of Representatives seats or are in the Senate.[15] The Moderates are noted as having very little presence in the states of Queensland and Western Australia; however, in Victoria, the nominal Moderate faction is not affiliated with those of the other states.[15] The Moderates are the dominant faction in New South Wales and have provided all of the past three Liberal leaders in Tasmania (all of whom served as Premier).[citation needed]

Membership

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Prominent moderates include former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull,[16] former Foreign Affairs Minister and former Deputy Leader Julie Bishop,[17] former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne,[18] former Attorney-General George Brandis,[19] and former Liberal-turned-independent MP Julia Banks.[20]

Prominent moderates in the Morrison government included Senate leader Simon Birmingham,[21] Marise Payne, Paul Fletcher and Linda Reynolds.[22]

At the state level, three Liberal leaders are from this faction: Mark Speakman (the New South Wales Opposition Leader),[23], Jeremy Rockliff (the current Tasmanian Premier)[24] and Vincent Tarzia (the South Australia Opposition Leader). Prominent Moderates in New South Wales include Gladys Berejiklian (the 45th Premier of New South Wales),[25] Matt Kean (the faction's leader in New South Wales and former deputy leader of the party),[26] Rob Stokes (a former Cabinet minister)[27] and Natalie Ward (the party's deputy leader in New South Wales).[28] Prominent Moderates in other states include Georgie Crozier and David Southwick in Victoria;[29] John Gardner, Josh Teague (current South Australian Liberal deputy leader) and Tim Whetstone in South Australia;[30][31] and Peter Gutwein and Will Hodgman in Tasmania (who both served as Premier).[32][33]

Current federal House members

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As of 4 July 2025.[34]

Current federal Senate members

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Former federal House members

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Former federal Senate members

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Dave Sharma was formerly the Member for Wentworth from 2019 to 2022.
  2. ^ Julia Banks left the Liberal Party in 2018 while sitting as a federal MP.

References

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  1. ^ Turnbull, Malcolm (2020). A Bigger Picture. Australia: Hardie Grant Books. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-74379-563-7.
  2. ^ Matthewson, Paula. "Comment: Rise of the Liberal moderates". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  3. ^ The New Social Contract. Queensland, Australia: Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd. 2020. ISBN 978-1-922449-03-0.
  4. ^ Davies, Anne (10 April 2019). "'Modern Liberals': Dave Sharma and Tim Wilson rebrand over climate change". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  5. ^ Steketee, Mike (12 March 2021). "The revolt of the Liberal moderates". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b Warhurst, John (20 March 2014). "Centrist Liberals need stronger voice". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  7. ^ Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  8. ^ Massola, James (9 April 2023). "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023.
  9. ^ Tillett, Andrew (21 October 2018). "Liberal moderates on guard as up to 10 seats vulnerable to progressive backlash". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ^ Johnson, Carol (12 July 2017). "Turnbull is right to link the Liberals with the centre – but is the centre where it used to be?". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  11. ^ Cannane, Steve (11 July 2017). "Malcolm Turnbull hits back at right-wing Liberals, says party was never intended to be conservative". ABC News. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull and the great paradox of Australian politics". Australian Financial Review. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  13. ^ Truu, Maani (13 May 2025). "Sussan Ley becomes first woman to lead Liberal Party". ABC News. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  14. ^ FitzSimons, Peter (12 June 2022). "'People were fed up': Sussan Ley on her punk past, feminism and why the Liberals lost". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  15. ^ a b Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull: The man who couldn't be king". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Behind the Curtin, an epic power struggle is taking place within the WA Liberals". www.abc.net.au. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  18. ^ "'We are in the winner's circle': Pyne crows about influence of Liberal party's left faction". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  19. ^ Grattan, Michelle (7 February 2018). "George Brandis warns Liberals against rise of populist right". The Conversation. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  20. ^ Banks, Julia (2 July 2021). "'Shut up and take your HRT': ex-MP Julia Banks on Canberra's boys' club". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  21. ^ "The rise of the next generation of factional leaders". 23 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Your Government | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Mark Speakman elected leader of the NSW Liberals, promising renewal". Australian Financial Review. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Right shift not the fix: Tas Lib premier". The Canberra Times. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Gladys Berejiklian Elected NSW Premier". Triple M. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  26. ^ Smith, Alexandra (15 September 2022). "Senior Libs push rising star Natalie Ward for lower house seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  27. ^ Davies, Anne (22 January 2022). "The Right stuff: why shellshocked NSW Liberal moderates are fearing factional fights". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  28. ^ "New Liberal leader speaks out on NSW party's future". Australian Associated Press. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  29. ^ "Victorian Liberal leadership contest hangs in the balance". The Age. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  30. ^ Richardson, Tom (8 April 2022). "Teague bids for Lib leadership as federal heavyweight tapped for major review". InDaily. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  31. ^ Richardson, Tom (19 April 2022). "Great Scot: Speirs takes leadership as Libs seek renewal". InDaily. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  32. ^ "New Liberal premier of Tasmania Peter Gutwein says we must 'do more' on climate change". The Guardian. 20 January 2020. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Few have achieved as much as Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman". The Australian. 14 January 2020.
  34. ^ Massola, James (9 April 2023). "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023.
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