Keating’s ‘swill’ a lesson for Liberals

Home truth: political parties exist to win elections. It’s their sole purpose. They don’t exist to govern; elected representatives and their departments bear that responsibility. They don’t exist to drive the economy; the private sector, particularly small business, largely does this. They don’t exist to cure souls; that’s the work of the church. Political parties exist to win elections. 

To do that, they must win the support of the electorate, and to do that, they must demonstrate to the electorate that they genuinely represent voters’ interests and possess the capacity to lead, govern and effect change. Voters want to see their story writ large on the arc of national narrative. 

This is the fundamental tenet of representative democracy, the political system of Australia. Most recently, we saw representative democracy masterfully executed by David Crisafulli’s LNP in Queensland. Mr Crisafulli spent the first couple of years as Opposition Leader travelling the state listening to Queenslanders. He wanted to know what mattered to them, what kept them up at night, what they discussed with friends around the BBQ or the sidelines of children’s sport. 

Armed with that knowledge and shaped by the LNP’s values, Mr Crisafulli crafted a narrative imbued with the concerns and dreams of Queensland voters. In the lead up to the October 2024 state election, he then consistently reflected this to voters as he prosecuted his party’s case. Queenslanders felt heard, saw in the LNP a political party that understood them and wanted to represent their interests. Note that during this time, Mr Crisafulli did not travel the state shopping around his resume or driving his own views down the throats of voters. He asked questions and listened attentively for answers, then sort to represent those answers in policy and narrative. Representative democracy. 

Similarly, leading into the May 3 federal election, the National Party, led by David Littleproud, listened to its core constituency across rural and regional Australia and represented its interests in policy and narrative. Whether you or metropolitan Australia supported the Nationals is not the point. The Nationals’ core constituency is rural and regional Australia and rural and regional Australia voted strongly for the party. In fact, it picked up an additional seat.

By contrast, the challenges and concerns discussed in metropolitan Australia were not reflected in the policy and narrative offered by the Federal Liberal Party. There was no clear and consistent central theme that spoke to Robert Menzies’ ‘forgotten people’, and policies did not respond to the anxieties or aspirations of mums and dads, small-business owners, or hopeful young homeowners. Ideas, language and interactions were contained in a blue echo chamber. While the leader or a particularly unpopular single policy may have played a role in the Liberal Party’s election defeat, there was much more at play. Something not unique to the Liberals nor to Australian politics. 

In 2013, Irish political scientist Peter Mair published Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy (Verso Books), in which he explores the growing disconnect between citizens and political elites in Western democracies. His central thesis is that democracy is becoming hollowed out. While the formal structures of democracy—elections, parties, parliaments—remain intact, their substance and vitality are eroding. Mair argues that rather than representing the interests of voters, political parties have become professionalised organisations more focused on managing public office than fostering democratic engagement. The natural result is that parties become, as Paul Keating once quipped, ‘unrepresentative swill’. 

Simultaneously, and possibly precipitated by the above, citizens are withdrawing from democratic participation. Voter turnout is declining, party membership is shrinking, and political engagement is waning. This creates a void at the centre of democratic life as political elites are less accountable, and citizens are less involved. An increasing number of disaffected citizens also distant themselves from mainstream parties to start niche minor parties or extreme left- or right-wing movements. 

Mair warns that without meaningful citizen engagement and responsive political parties, democracy risks becoming a shell—ruling without representation. As for the Liberal Party in 2025, it’s a sad and tired shadow of a once-nation-building political movement founded by a nation-building political leader who spoke from and for middle Australia.

Political parties exist to win elections, but this is only possible if a party genuinely represents the interests of the electorate and, in particular, its own core constituency. The Liberal Party has not been forgotten by the people; the people have been forgotten by the Liberal Party. 

As the rebuild gets underway, all members and supporters of the Liberal Party must listen  to the people – their hopes, dreams, challenges and concerns – and ensure policy and narrative reflect these interests. This is only possible if the party of Menzies returns to its roots as a political movement deeply embedded in community within Rotary Clubs and small businesses, churches and junior sports clubs, pubs and workplaces. It must follow Mr Crisafulli’s example: ask the right questions, attentively listen to the answers, and reflect these in policies and narrative. 

To do this, the party itself must reform. Tradition matters, but the structure, culture, governance, communication and engagement of the Liberal Party must reflect a modern Australia. It will not attract the next generation of membership if it’s not fit for purpose in our current context. The organisation can’t be aloof, standing separate from the society it seeks to represent, filled with political ‘experts’, careerists and unrepresentative and fractious opinions. 

The party must be authentically engaged in kitchen-table policy making and composed of people whose lives are most impacted by what’s discussed around those tables. 

I come from a poor family in a small country town with no real local economy to speak of, and I joined the party nearly 30 years ago because I was inspired by aspiration. Centre-right politics spoke to me and my lot in life. I was encouraged by the idea that where I started in life was not where I had to end up; that I had agency in this world and if I diligently applied that agency, I could make something of myself and for my family. That opportunity and prosperity was my personal responsibility to pursue. 

I want to be inspired again. Don’t you?

Father Daniel Hobbs is an Anglican Priest, Senior Consultant at government relations firm the SAS Group, and a lifetime member of the Liberal National Party.