The Liberal Party must move left

Charles Darwin, in The Descent of Man raised the issue of a strong leader. He states "As soon as a tribe has a recognised leader, disobedience becomes a crime, and even abject submission is looked at as a sacred virtue." The conservative position over history has been taken by those with power and wealth. The American Declaration of Independence may claim that "All men are created equal", but such is not the case. Those with power and wealth have over the centuries, essentially decided for us all.The expectation that the elected members of a party toe their party line is the modern-day conservative equivalent of the dominance of those with power. It is a complete antithesis of democracy. In 1943, at the height of World War II, Simone Weil produced an essay titled "On the Abolition of All Political Parties." Weil's first argument against parties is that they prevent democracy from finding out the true, correct solutions to problems. "The general will cannot emerge" she asserted. Her second argument is even stronger: "Political parties," she writes, "are organizations that are publicly and officially designed for the purpose of killing in all souls the sense of truth and of justice." Members of a party delegate their conscience to the party, accepting its verdict on all political and moral questions.

Australia demonstrated this rejection in the vote against the Liberal /Nationals Coalition and with the emergence of the Independent candidates. Mostly women, with a very progressive stance: Pro climate management, integrity in government, consideration for women.

The swing was massive. Goldstein was long regarded as one of the Liberal party's safest seats in Victoria. It had been held by the Liberals and their predecessors since federation. It went to one of the independents, Zoe Daniel

So what happens if the Coalition moves further to the left?

First of all, Peter Dutton is unlikely to become leader of the Liberal Party. He is too conservative. But if he does, the party is doomed to many years in the wilderness

Second, the Coalition is likely to break up. Barnaby Joyce and his National Party are party to the pro-coal movement . With a less conservative opposition, coal is finished. Possibly the Nationals with it : the Guardian recently reported that the Rural News Corp paper the Weekly Times, delivered sharp rebuke to Barnaby Joyce over Nationals' climate denials.

News Corp under Rupert Murdoch will likely face increasing controlling legislation. Kevin Rudd recently attacked Rupert Murdock; Murdoch controls an excessive share of Australian media with a circulation among national and capital city dailies at 65 per cent. Rudd's petition to establish a royal commission into media diversity in Australia attracted more than half a million signatures. He termed News Corp as a "cancer eating at the heart of Australian democracy".

The recent ABC 4 Corners episode on News Corp investigated how Murdoch ran Fox News as a propaganda vehicle for Donald Trump and helped destabilise democracy in the United States. Rupert Murdoch has become increasingly conservative in his old age – as reflected in the development of Fox News and its support for the US President Donald Trump.We all remember a Murdoch paper headlining "Kick this mob out "in the 2013 election.

Australia's treatment of two groups of people - Aboriginals and refugees will improve. Albanese has committed to supporting the Uluru statement from the Heart.

Refugees will be better treated, Already we have seen with Labor the Bilolea Family, an Australian story of cruelty will be allowed to return to their home town. Should the Liberal Party move left , Australia's treatment of refugees will become more compassionate . Peter Dutton as the Minister for Home Affairs was not the most compassionate of ministers

Last, more Australians will be better off. With both sides of the political fence working towards a fairer and more equitable Australia, instead of engaging in attacks on each other and slanging matches in the media, the result is likely to be more brains at work to build a country that produces wealth and shares it more equitably. The days of Tony Abbott's 2014 horror budget will have been long gone. The perception (by 63% of the those asked in a Nielsen poll) was that this budget was unfair. Those at the bottom were being asked to "lift" weights way out of their class.

Robert Menzies' concepts in founding the Liberal Party set out in hisspeech The Forgotten People on 22 May 1942, which defines and exalts Australia's middle class, will become more of a reality.