The Victorian Liberal Party needs to break with more than 80 years of tradition and get involved in local government, according to one senior federal MP.
A former Victorian Liberal Party chief has been appointed head of the new Yes23 campaign.
Simon Frost has assumed the role of new chief operations tasked with utilising new funding to increase ‘street-level’ visibility.
The Yes campaign will invest more than $10 million into advertising and merchandise ahead of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
Coalition Immigration spokesman Dan Tehan will on Saturday tell the Liberal Party’s State Council in Bendigo that the party needs to end its boycott of council elections.
While the Liberal Party in NSW and the LNP in QLD have long run candidates at a local level, the Victorian Division has maintained a policy of giving local councils a wide berth.
But after winning only three state elections since 1979 and holding only seven of the 39 Victorian seats in the federal parliament, Mr Tehan believes this must change.
Coalition Immigration spokesman Dan Tehan. Picture: Gary Ramage
In his speech to the State Council Mr Tehan will say the party needs to run candidates in local government elections for three reasons.
Firstly, he says the party “can make a significant contribution to improve lives and communities” through local government.
“The Liberal Party is the party of families, small business and individual enterprise – the key constituencies of local government,” he will argue.
“ We want to cut red tape, focus on value for taxpayer money and deliver services instead of telling people how to run their lives – and that’s what votes want from their local government.”
Mr Tehan also believes that involvement in local councils will give the party a connection with local communities that it currently lacks.
At present the Liberals do not hold a single one of the 22 lower house state seats in the Western and Northern Metropolitan Regions of the state parliament nor any of the federal seats they contain.
The Liberal Party does not hold a single federal or state seat in Geelong, Bendigo or Ballarat. Picture: Alan Barber
The Party does not hold a single federal or state seat in Bendigo, Ballarat or Geelong either.
“Working more closely with communities through local government will help our party better connect with the issues that are front of mind for families and small businesses,” he will argue,
“Having a presence at the local government level will help us develop policies relevant to communities that we can deliver at all levels of government.”
Finally, Mr Tehan will argue that involvement in local government would help give Liberals the political training they need to be successful MP, believing it to be “a great proving ground” for future state and federal politicians.”
“Local government is where Liberal party members with ambition can learn their craft, connect their communities and earn a reputation for delivering on their promises,” he said.
Currently, the shadow cabinet in Canberra has just one member with local government experience – Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price of the Northern Territory who before her election in 2022 served as a deputy mayor of Alice Springs.