Inside the Coalition party room itself, it’s easy to place most MPs in the “moderate” or “conservative” camps. But those labels disguise deep divisions.
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Inside the Coalition party room itself, it’s easy to place most MPs in the “moderate” or “conservative” camps. But those labels disguise deep divisions within the two wings – especially among the conservatives.
Take Abbott, Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews. Prominent conservative figures from the Howard era, they are known internally as the “old guard” or “Dad’s Army”. Permanently exiled to the backbench by Malcolm Turnbull, all three are happy to make life difficult for the PM.
As news of Bernardi’s departure broke, Abetz went on Sky News and said it showed the government needed to embrace conservativism. Yet Turnbull has already given ground to conservatives on same-sex marriage, superannuation, climate policy and section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act …
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