Why Liberal Party must unite Australia and challenge failing Labor government

Arthur Phillip’s arrival in 1788 brought the British institutions to this great southern land. It literally laid the foundation for the most prosperous, free, open and fair nation in the world.

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Australia in 2026 embodies those magnificent British institutions like guaranteed rights, equality before the law and free elections. 

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It also marks the formal dispossession of Indigenous people - where land and cultural needs were withdrawn by the British and then colonial governments. In the past 50 years there have been significant steps taken to address these injustices. 

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Today Australia is a fusion. Indigenous heritage, British institutions and the multicultural gift of post World War II migration. 

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Every nation has a past with good and bad elements. 

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On 26 January, some people will choose to focus on one element of our past - it may be the good or the bad. Either way, they will be papering over something. We are mature enough to understand complexity and perspective. 

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Australia has been a beacon of safety, security and freedom for those who have chosen to call it home. 

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If any nation has a history to celebrate, it is Australia.  

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As a first generation Australian, I am very proud to be part of this achievement - I hope all Australians take a moment to reflect on our achievements in a respectful manner. 

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This Australia Day is just over one month from 14 December 2025 when Australia failed our Jewish community. The Bondi Beach massacre saw Australia’s first religious terrorist attack driven by mutated, extreme Islam.

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This attack on a minority was an attack on Australia's way of life. It was intended to undermine all the progress made over the past 250 years. 

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The Australian promise of “live and let live” is now under the greatest threat since Philip arrived. 

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The Liberal Party as Australia’s opposition party has a great responsibility to ensure we maintain Australia’s promise. 

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Australians are frustrated with the current government. Mr Albanese is struggling. He seems to be in survival mode - pointing fingers at rivals and playing politics. It appears he has no real agenda other than to win elections. 

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On his watch, the country is fragmenting. It feels like we are becoming a nation of tribes. 

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There is nothing to rally around. There is no national project. 

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Labor has gone out of its way to avoid celebrating Australia. They’ve helped silly councils remove their Australia Day citizenship ceremonies to placate a few activists, and their MPs seem allergic to the Australian flag. 

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A brief review of the social media accounts of Labor MPs on National Flag Day is instructive. 

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Unfortunately the Opposition’s internal cohesion problems are letting Australians down. 

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We have a genuine responsibility to lift our game. 

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We are not a nation of tribes. 

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We are Australians and we can recapture the strong, unifying feelings past generations have had about this country. 

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But because of our political failures, we have not been able to right the ship.

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Politically, we are where we deserve to be. 

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This is not a time for fragmentation into smaller parties and narrow interests, with the guarantee of policy incoherence. 

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The smaller parties are hopelessly compromised by their need to pitch to certain constituencies and have probably been led astray by vested interests. They are unfit to govern a broad and diverse Australia. 

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We have to work hard together this year on three things to win back the respect of Australians: an economic package, a cultural agenda and try to remember the political calculus. 

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Firstly, the economic package must be the centrepiece. It requires the most work. 

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To be frank, if we don’t do it, it won’t happen. 

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The smaller parties will never develop wholesale solutions to the nation’s biggest problems such as:

• Fixing the haemorrhaging budget with programs like the NDIS out of control and failing, and $1 trillion in debt 
• Delivering a fairer tax system for workers 
• Housing for Australians 
• Funding critical national security and defence needs
• Cutting red tape which is strangling small business
• Lifting Australia’s dynamism and securing our prosperity.

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It is time for complete solutions. Perhaps not on the same scale as Fightback! But we should take inspiration from that period of productive opposition. The good news is that some of this work is already underway. 

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There is no recovery without the economic agenda fully developed. 

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Secondly, a society-wide element is needed to build up Australia’s sense of itself. We love Australia and we are proud of its values, its promise and its symbols. We will protect our way of life and we will always put Australians first. 

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Building up Australia cannot be done by fringe parties which, for example, seek to target migrants or other minorities. Around half of our population has an overseas born parent. More than 30% of Australians are born outside Australia. 

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You can’t win by attacking half the population indirectly or a third of it directly. 

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We have to build and unite, not divide. 

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Third, the political calculus is straightforward. If we really want to fix our country, we need to consolidate the conservative voting block and also win back support in the centre where the swing vote resides. 

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It’s not an option to choose. You have to do both. 

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That’s the job ahead of us. Australia Day is a good day to remember the service we owe our country and to the Australian people. 

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