Malcolm Turnbull

Instead of saying, I'm running to be your feisty independent giving speeches to an empty chamber from the crossbench, they can say, I am running to be part of a government in which I expect to be the treasurer or the minister for the environment or something like that.

Well, I think there's an opportunity there.

The Liberal Party has moved over the years further to the right.

And that's why you've had Teals, you know, the independent candidates elected in safe Liberal seats.

And of course, you've had Helen Haynes, preceded by Cathy McGowan, being elected and re-elected in Indi, another safe seat.

Liberal Party seat.

And of course, you've got Bec Sharkey in the seat of Mayo in Victoria.

So there is now about nine really historically very safe Liberal seats that are held by

independence, you know, they're not all the same.

They're not members of a party, but they all have a couple of things in common.

They're all women for a start.

They are progressive on climate.

They're progressive on social issues, but they're pretty centrist, conservative, rational on the economy and business.

And that's, you know, I would call that a small L liberal view of the world.

And that is what the large L liberal party has moved away from.

And they've kept moving to the right.

And now they're essentially copying policies from One Nation, as we saw recently with Angus Taylor's immigration policy.

Look, I'm saying there's clearly a gap in the market there.

There's a vacuum at the centre in Australian politics.

There should be two big parties in the centre.