Moderates (Liberal Party of Australia)

Political faction

Moderate Faction

Modern Liberals

Abbreviation| ML
Ideology|

* Liberalism (Australian)
* Liberal conservatism
* Economic liberalism

Political position| Centre to centre-right
Colours|  Blue
House of Representatives|

9 / 40

(2023 seats)
Senate|

6 / 24

(2024 seats)[citation needed]
Tasmanian House of Assembly[1]|

3 / 11

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Related topics

* Conservatism in Australia
* Liberal Party factions:
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The Moderates,[a][2][3] also known as Modern Liberals,[4][5] Small-L Liberals[6] or Liberal Left,[7] are members, supporters, voters and a faction of the Australian Liberal Party who are typically economically, socially and environmentally liberal.[8][9][10] The faction has been described as centre[7][11][12] to centre-right.[13]

They compete with the Liberal Party's other three major factions: The National Right/Hard Right, the Centrists, and the Centre Right

## Geographical base

[edit]

Moderate Liberals often represent inner-city and wealthy House of Representatives seats or are in the Senate.[14] 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.[14] 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

[edit]

Prominent moderates include former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull,[15] former Foreign Affairs Minister and former Deputy Leader Julie Bishop,[16] former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne,[17] former Attorney-General George Brandis,[18] and former Liberal-turned-independent MP Julia Banks.[19]

Prominent moderates in the Morrison government included Senate leader Simon Birmingham,[20] Marise Payne, Paul Fletcher and Linda Reynolds.[21]

At the state level, three Liberal leaders are from this faction: Mark Speakman (the New South Wales Opposition Leader),[22] John Pesutto (the Victorian Opposition Leader)[23] and Jeremy Rockliff (the current Tasmanian Premier).[24] 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;[23] John Gardner, Vincent Tarzia, Josh Teague and Tim Whetstone in South Australia;[29][30] and Peter Gutwein and Will Hodgman in Tasmania (who both served as Premier).[31][32]

### Current federal House members

[edit]

As of 9 April 2023[update].[33]

* Bridget Archer (Bass, Tasmania)
* Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Queensland)
* David Coleman (Banks, New South Wales)
* Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Queensland)
* Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, New South Wales)
* Julian Leeser (Berowra, New South Wales)
* Sussan Ley (Farrer, New South Wales)
* James Stevens (Sturt, South Australia)
* Jenny Ware (Hughes, New South Wales)

### Current federal Senate members

[edit]

As of March 2024[update][34][failed verification]

* Simon Birmingham (South Australia)
* Andrew Bragg (New South Wales)
* Richard Colbeck (Tasmania)
* Jane Hume (Victoria)
* Dave Sharma (New South Wales)[b]
* Maria Kovacic (New South Wales)

### Former federal House members

[edit]

* John Alexander
* Katie Allen
* Julia Banks (2016–2018)[c]
* Julie Bishop
* George Brandis
* Trevor Evans
* Jason Falinski
* Joe Hockey
* Fiona Martin
* Christopher Pyne
* Malcolm Turnbull
* Tim Wilson
* Ken Wyatt
* Trent Zimmerman

### Former federal Senate members

[edit]

* George Brandis
* Marise Payne

## See also

[edit]

* Teal independents
* National Right
* One Nation Conservatives
* Blue Grit
* Red Tory
* Blue Dog Coalition
* New Democrat Coalition
* Republican Governance Group
* Labor Right
* Labor Left

## Notes

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Who is who in the new Tasmanian Lower House of Parliament". ABC News. 14 May 2021.
2. ^ Turnbull, Malcolm (2020). A Bigger Picture. Australia: Hardie Grant Books. p. 110\. ISBN 978-1-74379-563-7.
3. ^ "Comment: Rise of the Liberal moderates". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
4. ^ The New Social Contract. Queensland, Australia: Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd. 2020. ISBN 978-1-922449-03-0.
5. ^ "'Modern Liberals': Dave Sharma and Tim Wilson rebrand over climate change". the Guardian. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
6. ^ Steketee, Mike (12 March 2021). "The revolt of the Liberal moderates". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
7. ^ a b "Centrist Liberals need stronger voice". 20 March 2014.
8. ^ Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ "Liberal moderates on guard as up to 10 seats vulnerable to progressive backlash". Australian Financial Review. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
11. ^ "Turnbull is right to link the Liberals with the centre – but is the centre where it used to be?". 12 July 2017.
12. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull hits back at right-wing Liberals, says party was never intended to be conservative". 11 July 2017.
13. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull and the great paradox of Australian politics". 22 May 2018.
14. ^ 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.
15. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull: The man who couldn't be king". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
16. ^ "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.
17. ^ "'We are in the winner's circle': Pyne crows about influence of Liberal party's left faction". SBS News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
18. ^ Grattan, Michelle (7 February 2018). "George Brandis warns Liberals against rise of populist right". The Conversation. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
19. ^ 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.
20. ^ "The rise of the next generation of factional leaders". 23 August 2019.
21. ^ "Your Government | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
22. ^ "Mark Speakman elected leader of the NSW Liberals, promising renewal". Australian Financial Review. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
23. ^ a b "Victorian Liberal leadership contest hangs in the balance". The Age. 6 December 2022. 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. ^ Richardson, Tom (8 April 2022). "Teague bids for Lib leadership as federal heavyweight tapped for major review". InDaily. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
30. ^ Richardson, Tom (19 April 2022). "Great Scot: Speirs takes leadership as Libs seek renewal". InDaily. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
31. ^ "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.
32. ^ "Few have achieved as much as Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman". The Australian. 14 January 2020.
33. ^ 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.
34. ^ "Our Team". 12 June 2013.

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