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Moderates (Liberal Party of Australia)
Political faction From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Moderates,[1][2] also known as Modern Liberals,[3][4] Small-L Liberals[5] or Liberal Left,[6] are a faction comprising the members, supporters and voters of the Liberal Party of Australia who are typically economically, socially and environmentally liberal.[7][8][9] The faction has been described as centre[6][10][11] to centre-right.[12] The faction has supported ideologies such as economic liberalism, centrism and social liberalism, having a combination of economically liberal and socially progressive views. Since May 2025, the offices of Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition have been occupied by Sussan Ley, who is the first woman to hold either position. She is a member of the Moderates and identifies as a republican, as do many other members of the faction.[13][14]
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They compete with the Liberal Party's other two major factions: the Centre Right and the National Right.
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Geographical base
Moderate Liberals often represent inner-city and wealthy House of Representatives seats or are in the Senate.[15] The Moderates are noted as having very little presence in the states of Queensland and Western Australia; however, in Victoria, the nominal Moderate faction is not affiliated with those of the other states.[15] The Moderates are the dominant faction in New South Wales and have provided all of the past three Liberal leaders in Tasmania (all of whom served as Premier).[citation needed]
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Membership
Summarize
Perspective
Prominent moderates include former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull,[16] former Foreign Affairs Minister and former Deputy Leader Julie Bishop,[17] former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne,[18] former Attorney-General George Brandis,[19] and former Liberal-turned-independent MP Julia Banks.[20]
Prominent moderates in the Morrison government included Senate leader Simon Birmingham,[21] Marise Payne, Paul Fletcher and Linda Reynolds.[22]
At the state level, three Liberal leaders are from this faction: Mark Speakman (the New South Wales Opposition Leader),[23], Jeremy Rockliff (the current Tasmanian Premier)[24] and Vincent Tarzia (the South Australia Opposition Leader). Prominent Moderates in New South Wales include Gladys Berejiklian (the 45th Premier of New South Wales),[25] Matt Kean (the faction's leader in New South Wales and former deputy leader of the party),[26] Rob Stokes (a former Cabinet minister)[27] and Natalie Ward (the party's deputy leader in New South Wales).[28] Prominent Moderates in other states include Georgie Crozier and David Southwick in Victoria;[29] John Gardner, Josh Teague (current South Australian Liberal deputy leader) and Tim Whetstone in South Australia;[30][31] and Peter Gutwein and Will Hodgman in Tasmania (who both served as Premier).[32][33]
Current federal House members
As of 9 April 2023[update].[34]
- Bridget Archer (Bass, Tasmania)
- Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Queensland)
- David Coleman (Banks, New South Wales)
- Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Queensland)
- Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, New South Wales)
- Julian Leeser (Berowra, New South Wales)
- Sussan Ley (Farrer, New South Wales)
- James Stevens (Sturt, South Australia)
- Jenny Ware (Hughes, New South Wales)
Current federal Senate members
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- Andrew Bragg (New South Wales)
- Richard Colbeck (Tasmania)
- Jane Hume (Victoria)
- Dave Sharma (New South Wales)[a]
- Maria Kovacic (New South Wales)
Former federal House members
Former federal Senate members
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See also
Notes
- Dave Sharma was formerly the Member for Wentworth from 2019 to 2022.
- Julia Banks left the Liberal Party in 2018 while sitting as a federal MP.
References
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