FORMER Coalition Senator Sam McMahon will contest the upcoming federal election as a libertarian-leaning Liberal Democrats candidate.
The former senator resigned in late January from the Country Liberal Party – part of the governing centre-right Coalition – after losing a tough pre-selection contest to former Alice Springs councillor Jacinta Price.
- McMahon said the CLP was in shambles and that she was impressed by the professionalism of the Liberal Democrats.
- The Liberal Democrats Party has been steadily building up its list of candidates.
- Major Parties face challenge trying to satisfy a splintering electorate.
Ms McMahon will now be competing against her former Party colleague when she enters the race for one the Northern Territory’s two Senate seats.
“I’ve had a fair beating from politics. I was happy to step away. I did not want to continue on in politics,” she told reporters in Darwin yesterday.
FEMALE
“But I have exercised my female prerogative to change my mind, and that is what I have done.”
Ms McMahon said the CLP was in shambles and that she was impressed by the professionalism of the Liberal Democrats.
She will be running alongside former CLP members, Kylie Bonanni and Jed Hansen, who will be running for the House of Representatives’ seat of Solomon.
Mr Hansen was reprimanded by CLP President Jamie Di Brenni over a speech delivered at a rally against vaccine mandates on January 22 this year.
Ms McMahon has campaigned against vaccine mandates, improved use of federal infrastructure funding, and for euthanasia.
Her decision to join the minor party mirrors that of former Coalition members Campbell Newman, Ross Cameron and John Ruddick who quit last year largely over dissatisfaction with the handling of COVID-19 by Australian governments.
Amongst their dissatisfaction was the Coalition’s bipartisan support for heavy lockdowns and tight restrictions on personal freedom.
Former federal Member for Hughes Craig Kelly also jumped ship to become the leader of the United Australia Party.
“I was a member of the Liberal Party for 40 years, and I can say we will tear strips off the Liberals and Nationals like hammerhead sharks tearing at the carcass of a sperm whale,” Mr Cameron told The Australian newspaper in the wake of his announcement in July.
BUILDING
The Liberal Democrats Party has been steadily building up its list of candidates to run in the next federal election due in May.
Australia’s major Parties face challenges trying to satisfy the demands of a splintering electorate.
The centre-Right Coalition has been attempting to hold its conservative-leaning and right-leaning base, while shoring up inner-city electorates being challenged by progressive candidates and independents.
This has compelled the Party to adopt policies to recognise climate change and trans-gender issues – concerns critical to increasingly progressive electorates in the major cities.
The centre-Left Labor Party, meanwhile, has endured similar challenges – torn between its traditional working-class base and inner-city progressive voters, who demand more action on “climate change”, including renewable energy development – which conflicts with voters working in primary industries like coal mining and agriculture.
The Australian Greens, meanwhile, have pitched radical, progressive policies including increasing welfare, a rapid transition to renewable energy and halving defence spending.
Greens leader Adam Bandt is confident increasing dissatisfaction with the Coalition and Labor, could result in a hung Parliament and clear the way for minor Parties like The Greens to exert more influence over policy.PC
It started with Turnbull and Morrison has hammered the last nails into the coffins . They might just win by a nail ? But the minors must and will hold the balance of power .
“[…] we will tear strips off the Liberals and Nationals like hammerhead sharks tearing at the carcass of a sperm whale […]”
It’s interesting to see the coalition parties being compared to a whale – does this mean if they win the election, it will only be a fluke ?