Commenting on the story: The Right has come back stronger’: Lib factions on the charge

I have been observing the factional war between the moderates and conservatives in the SA Liberal Party from the inside and outside for a very long time.

The likes of Steele Hall, Robin Millhouse, Dean Brown and Legh Davis stood for the principles of liberalism and overcame the reactionary conservative forces in the former Liberal and Country League, creating a modern Liberal Party.

The antagonism never ended and is rearing its ugly head yet again, with the hard right emboldened to push back against the real liberal moderates. If only the ‘illiberal’ conservatives would be brave enough to establish their own conservative party, leaving those who believe in liberalism to remain.

They won’t because they know that a conservative party would fail, as most South Australians have historically preferred moderate centrist Liberal or Labor parties. –  Andrew Tidswell

Let’s be clear about what is happening here. The Right of the Liberal Party, having been shunted to the sidelines, have taken a lesson from the USA Republican playbook and realised that their path back to power lies in mobilising the Evangelicals.

For me this is not so much an extreme right versus moderates issue, as one of who is influencing party political positions. People of faith are as entitled as anyone to be involved in politics and that is nothing new. What rings alarm bells for me however is implications of putting government into the hands of people whose position on social justice issues is dictated not by reason, evidence, and humanistic ideals, but by religious legalisms and Biblical literalism.

These organisations harbour the reactionaries who deny the science of climate change and evolutionary biology. They promote the concept that “Headship” is vested in the male. These are people who want to subject your gay son/daughter to conversion therapy; who want to “pray the gay away”. In America they gave us four years of Trump.

I accept the right of every South Australian to be involved in politics and the community but tolerance and politeness should not dissuade us from calling out this thing for what it is. A Liberal Party beholden to the support of conservative evangelical churches would endanger the social progress of the last fifty years and pervert our secular democracy into a reactionary pseudo-theocracy. – Harry Dewar

In the scheme of things do you think anyone really cares a jot about the likes of Cory Bernadi, Nicolle Flint or Alex Antic?

With Scott Morrison’s botched vaccine rollout, including those words, ‘it’s not a race’ staring at millions of people in extended lockdowns in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, one might well think the right faction of the LNP has hammered a very big nail into the coffin of its chances at the next federal election. – Gilbert Aitken

Commenting on the story: Park lands supporters urge UK body to reject Adelaide Park City bid

I think the modern term of “greenwashing” sums up the hypocritical position of the Government while they preside over massive tree reduction through poorly planned infrastructure projects and their flawed new planning code. – George MacKenzie