Interview with the Project on Channel 10

 ‍ 03 April 2023 **Subjects:** Voice Referendum, Aston By-election E&OE……… ‍ ##### **Waleed Aly** Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg joins us now. Senator, Peter Dutton wasn't able to answer the question of what went wrong yesterday. Why do you think you lost? ##### **Senator Bragg** Well, I think that there are many factors in the Victorian by-election of Aston. I'm not an expert on what's happened on the ground there. What I can say is that it's very important that the Liberal Party is a Party that puts forward economic policy ideas, but also one that keeps away from marginal issues. ##### **Waleed Aly** What does that mean? ##### **Senator Bragg** Well, it means that we have to put forward new ideas, particularly as Peter goes into his second year as Leader. I would expect we'd be putting forward new initiatives around things like housing and emissions reduction, for example. But it's equally important that we maintain our position as a mainstream Party. ##### **Kate Langbroek** I don't understand how the Liberal Party brand is going to recover when Mr. Dutton has said that he won't shift the direction of the Party. Does that mean that you're expecting the population to come to you? ##### **Senator Bragg** So what I mean when I say a Party of the mainstream, what I mean is a Party that keeps away from marginal issues, unnecessary culture war issues, and unnecessary divisions in the society. And there is a tendency on the fringes to Americanise our politics. And I think that would be a fundamental misreading of where the Liberal Party needs to go to maintain our status as a mainstream Party. ##### **Sarah Harris** Lots of questions over whether the Leader is the problem. Peter Dutton said he's not going anywhere. Are you behind him as Leader? ##### **Senator Bragg** The answer is not to change the Leader. The answer is to develop more policies, particularly in the economic space around things like housing, emissions reduction, for example, and as I say, maintaining our position as a mainstream political Party that doesn't move into the fringes. ##### **Sarah Harris** The problem is it's a mainstream political Party that no one seems to be voting for at the moment. If there's no problem with Peter Dutton, then how would you sell him to the Australian public as a Leader? ##### **Senator Bragg** But people are voting for the Liberal Party still. I mean, at the last Federal Election, we received 36% of the primary vote. Even at Aston, that was a 40% of the primary vote result. And of course, the New South Wales State Election saw quite a close result in the end, where after 12 years, Labor couldn't even get to a majority. ##### **Sarah Harris** Aren't by-elections supposed to send a message to the sitting government? Really, by-elections with this result, sent a message to the Liberal Party. ##### **Senator Bragg** Look, it was a bad result. There's no question about that. But what it means is we need to be focused on policy. Policy is the reason people vote for political parties. ##### **Kate Langbroek** But increasingly they're won on personality also. And do you think that maybe that is a problem for Mr. Dutton that is insurmountable, that real or imagined, he's misunderstood by the Australian electorate, or they've decided they don't want him? ##### **Senator Bragg** I think it's early days. I mean, Peter is a warm and consistent person, and I found him to be a very honest person to deal with. Now, not everyone in politics is honest, to start with. That won't surprise you. But I think that the more people get to see him, the more that they will like him. ##### **Waleed Aly** I guess we'll find out, Andrew. In the meantime, thank you so much for your time tonight. ##### **Senator Bragg** Okay, no worries. Thanks. ‍ **[Ends]** ‍