THE Liberal Party commissioned an official review into its 2025 election disaster — and then tried not to release it.
They thought it could stay internal. They thought it could be contained. Well — we have it.
- There was no clear, effective message, either positive or negative.
- The overall strategy, determined by the Leader, was unclear.
- Peter Dutton made himself captain, coach and ballboy.
A report detailing the election review has landed on the desk of high-rating radio personality Ben Fordham from Sydney’s 2GB radio station.
And it’s scandalous. This is not Labor attacking the Liberals. This is the Liberal Party, in its own words, attacking itself.
HIGHLIGHTS
And what it says is extraordinary. Here are the highlights, according to Fordham.
The review opens its conclusions with this: “The 2025 Federal Liberal campaign failure is widely considered to be the worst campaign the Party has ever fought.”
The worst campaign the Party has ever fought.
Not a setback. Not a difficult cycle. The worst.
It then lays out the basic rule of politics.
The document says: “Successful campaigns are based on a relatively straightforward rule – get the right message to the right people in the right place at the right time.”
And then it says: “The Liberal Party in 2025 comprehensively failed to follow that rule.”
Comprehensively failed.
It continues: “There was no clear, effective message, either positive or negative.”
No message.
And then, the review says: “The campaign was disastrously misled in targeting and resourcing by its market research. This led to unfounded confidence that the Party could win the election.”
The review then turns to the leadership of Peter Dutton.
It says: “The overall strategy, determined by the Leader, was unclear.”
And more seriously: “The campaign was fatally flawed by the Leader and his office taking over the overall conduct of the campaign, leaving the Party’s organisation responsible only for campaign mechanics.”
Fatally flawed.
It says: “Advice from the Federal Director and Federal Secretariat seems to have been ignored on a regular basis.”
CONTENTIOUS
Inside the Party room, the review says: “MPs consistently admitted they did not challenge a policy direction when they should, nor did they seek Party-room debate on contentious issues, over the term.”
And then it says: “One MP said he told the Opposition Leader during a Party room meeting that he did not agree with a policy position and was told he could leave the Party if that was how he felt.”
That is in the official document.
And then comes the line that will define this review: “Peter Dutton made himself captain, coach and ballboy.”
Captain. Coach. Ballboy.
And the first Recommendation of the reivew begins with a warning.
It says: “The Party must never again allow the Parliamentary Leader and Office to effectively run the campaign.”
This was followed by: “Just as you should never be your own barrister in a court of law, the Parliamentary Leader must never be his own campaign director.”
This is the Liberal Party saying:–
- We ran the worst campaign in our history.
- We comprehensively failed.
- The strategy was unclear.
- The campaign was fatally flawed.
- Advice was ignored.
- The relationship was broken.
And they thought this could be buried. In Canberra.
That was never going to happen.PC
The Liberals haven’t been in shape since Abbott won in a landslide and even then they were not ready.
Labor is quietly readying for Charlton. The NSW Right is mustering, getting him as the explainer of sweet reason on public media. Very presentable.
The Coalition? Thinking, thinking,……
Anyone who would let Prue Goward loose commenting on campaigning needs their heads read.
Prue would be the last person to get involved in campaigning given her disdain for party members.
A thoroughly unlikeable and useless minister and politician.
You are well placed for such as assessment Brian, as I recall. Is there a reason you were not asked?
Albanese waved the Report in Question Time. A copy of the recommendations was available well before. Minchin and Goward spent months collating ‘evidence”. I doubt the Liberal hierarchy has either will or capacity to learn from it and the abject campaign failures they caused. The 10 months since May 3 ? Riveting silence. And continued inability to act with any sense of purpose in parliamentary policy or, in NSW, constitutional amendment to democratise membership. Apart from a jumbled net zero policy, different in NSW to that, sort of adopted, federally nothing else of differential relevance or consistent with the very basis of Australian Liberalism. Chestbeating alleged ‘conservatives, uniparty moderates have condemned the Liberal Party to electoral minority. One Nation and teals have walked away with Liberal policies, modified to suit.10 months post May 2025 nothing of relevance has occurred. Sloane talks a good game but more intent on finger wagging, backing the net zero lobby and meeting with the ‘girls’. Taylor? Caught in the headlights. Hastie? Hiding in the weeds.
The votes grabbed by ON will return? Will they? Why would ‘they’ return to a policy vacuum or vague hints? Labor is caught up in Big Govt and right now its working in the absence of a serious alternative.
I realised a few weeks in that they were running a hopeless campaign. They had not learnt how to fight Albanese’s many lies and were not fighting back about the biggest lie – that nuclear power stations were going to cost more than $600bn. They just stood there and took all the rubbish being dished out. I emailed Peter Dutton’s office, I emailed my MP (who unfortunately is a wet).
I am hopeful about this new team led by Angus Taylor. He is a very bright man who needs to use his intellect to annoy, frustrate and outmanoeuvre street brawler Albanese and he has selected good people for the shadow portfolios.
What DOES frustrate me are the continual ‘friendly fire’ attacks from the moderates like Andrew Bragg. These people must be told that if they continue to undermine and attack IN PUBLIC, there will be consequences. The Liberal Party must become more disciplined, like the Labor Party which manages to keep its disagreements and differences behind doors.
Lastly, they must stop seeing One Nation as their enemy but instead, an ‘informal’ coalition partner. We CAN NOT have another term of this socialist government.
Get serious,LP wouldn’t have won with God as leader,their policies are to closely related to ALP & Greens,2 socialist majors doesn’t work in a democracy,2015 Turnbull & Moderates was the downfall just look @ voting/results history
Agree John. The LPA needs its key policy heads to be consistent at a national level and mandated locally. Net zero is a prime example of the policy uncertainty that destroys electoral crediblity.
Australia is at an existential point basking in the misunderstood ‘Lucky country’ epithet. ON has shown the Coalition a policy hint, but the lobbyists have outflanked it.
The fundamentally unsustainable population, Big Govt and ‘progressiveness ‘ are swamping Australian sovereignity.
Shortly after Prime Minister Tony Abbott was replaced by Malcolm Turnbull late in 2015 at a media conference Tony Abbott told journalists that they should not accept leaked stories unless the source was prepared to be named as the source.
I understand the reasons for that advice was the constant leaking and relentless negativity Tony Abbott had to deal with as Opposition Leader and when Prime Minister disregarding his leadership to victory and forming government.
And most of us know about ghost stories and the anonymous sources within the Coalition mostly the Liberals. And State Executive influence like Labor Union influencers.
One thing I am certain about is that Australia cannot afford another from 2028 three years of Albanese far left Labor Government
This should not surprise observers who have watched as the ghostly left gained influence from after the November 2007 election Howard Government defeat. The quick change of new opposition leader in 2008, the change again 2009, then after the 2010 for all intents and purposes defeat of the Gillard Labor Government by the Coalition led by Abbott resulted in Labor forced into alliances to form a minority Labor Government. At the 2013 election the Abbott Government had defeated Labor decisively. And in 2015 another change and in 2016 the Turnbull Government lost all the seats gained by Abbott in 2013!!!
In 2018 another change with Dutton swinging behind Morrison to become the next Coalition PM.
However, light is shining at the end of the Liberal factional tunnel, Angus Taylor recently was supported by two-thirds of Liberal MPs to become Opposition Leader Taylor. Until now the leadership changes were very narrow margins.
Don’t forget Union controlled Labor, the was secret Kirribilli Agreement between Treasurer Keating and Prime Minister Hawke requiring Hawke to resign and for Keating to become Labor PM. Or the 2007-2013 musical chairs for leadership resulting in Prime Minister Rudd to Gillard and back to Rudd. Or the Shorten to Albanese swap.
And right now Labor far left factions (as compared to centre left) in control, Albanese Labor. Centre left Labor have been the best Labor had to offer in the past. And the Union controllers who also donate to the Greens silent partners for them supporting Labor.
Labor is quietly readying for Charlton. The NSW Right is mustering, getting him as the explainer of sweet reason on public media. Very presentable.
The Coalition? Thinking, thinking,……
He would be the only Labor MP who has the qualifications and private sector experience to be equivalent to Angus Taylor, and Matt Canavan.
However, Labor is controlled by far left factions and the PM is a good example, student activist with Communist Party of Australia associates and other internationally, and is a follower of the late Russian revolutionary Marxist Leon Trotsky. He and the leftist majority are in control and the more sensible right factions are not happy.
What a frightful indictment. Thank you very much for sharing.