Prime Minister Says Liberal Party Shifting to the Far Right Amid Moderate MP Exits

With the exits of Simon Birmingham and Paul Fletcher, Albanese highlights the loss of moderate voices within the Liberal Party.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 11, 2025. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

On the final sitting day of Parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed the centre-right Liberal Party was catering increasingly to the fringe right with the recent exits of Moderate faction MPs.

During a speech on childcare reforms, Albanese criticised the party’s leadership, claiming that those with a vision for a “better Australia” were no longer welcome in the Liberal Party fold.

“Will the last Moderate in the Liberal Party turn the lights out before they leave the building?”

While Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the party was no longer “middle-of-the-road” and had become an “extreme right party” no longer welcoming of diversity of thought.

His comments come as Liberal MPs like the former Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Simon Birmingham and Opposition Leader of the House Paul Fletcher announced they would step down from politics—key figures in the party’s Moderate faction.

Traditionally, the Liberal Party has been divided into two major factions—the Right and Moderates, with smaller factions coming and going.

The Moderates historically stood for free market liberalism and not social conservatism, preferring to eschew “culture war” debates, whereas the Right has tended to embrace both.

Since the accession of Peter Dutton to the opposition leadership and the defeat of the Morrison government in 2022, the Right has steadily gained more influence with the Moderate faction waning.

Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton during a Liberal Party campaign rally in the seat of Chisholm, Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 12, 2025. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

The party’s decision to oppose The Voice referendum and embrace nuclear are examples of Right faction influence.

In his farewell speech, Senator Birmingham lamented the rise of divisive politics on both the left and right, warning that the focus on culture wars and personality clashes was a threat to social cohesion.

He called for a return to the values of John Stuart Mill, emphasising less government interference in both personal and economic matters.

The Decline of the Moderate Faction

The exodus of Moderates from the Liberal Party is not a new phenomenon.

The 2022 federal election marked a significant turning point, with the “teal” movement stripping the Liberal Party of several key figures, such as MPs Jason Falinski and Tim Wilson, of the Moderate wing.

Former Australian Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 13, 2021. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Prior to that, the stepping down of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, former Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, and former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne during 2017-19 was also a major development.

Among its current members, Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley, though still considered a Moderate, has remained largely silent on factional divides.

Other Moderate voices, such as Andrew Bragg, Dave Sharma, and Bridget Archer, continue to exist within the party but hold little sway over policy.

Archer, despite her outspoken nature and occasional defiance by crossing the floor, does not possess the factional power needed to revive the moderate cause.

Labor’s Challenges: A Changing Political Landscape

Meanwhile, the centre-left Labor Party faces its own internal challenges.

The retirement of Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones of Labor’s Right faction, represented the seat of Whitlam since 2010, and departure of former party leader Bill Shorten for a career in academia, leaves the Right faction weakened.

This means Labor’s Left could continue to dominate.