The Liberals answer to GETUP

[Redneck]

Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives group signs up 50,000 people online
Tom McIlroy

    Tom McIlroy

Liberal backbencher Cory Bernardi says his new Australian Conservatives group has recorded more than 50,000 online registrations and raised enough money to hire a spokesperson.

The right-wing South Australian senator launched the group in July, amid his high-profile complaints about the Coalition's election campaign result and criticism of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's performance.

Conservatives hope the group will ultimately rival the progressive lobby group GetUp!, with Queensland MP George Christensen saying "if we do nothing, we will let the forces of socialism and globalism conquer". 

On Monday, Senator Bernardi used an email seeking donations to report more than 50,000 people had filled in a registration form on the Australian Conservatives website.

Established "to help change politics and to give common sense a united voice", the group is affiliated with Senator Bernardi's Conservative Leadership Foundation, founded in 2009 to support future right-wing leaders.

"Our new website has been commissioned and will utilise some of the best communication technology available," he told subscribers.

"It is the same platform used by political and not-for-profit campaigns around the world and can adapt to our needs as the Australian Conservative movement grows.

"It will take a couple of months to be finalised but the extra time required to get it right is an investment in our future success."

The newly hired communications officer will take up the role within weeks and will be based at the group's Adelaide headquarters.

"Our movement is a work in progress but we are establishing strong foundations upon which to build a sustainable and influential future," Senator Bernardi said.

"Clearly there is still a lot of work to be done but we have made a solid start."

In the wake of the July 2 election result, Senator Bernardi said Malcolm Turnbull's future was up for debate within the Liberal Party, blaming party bosses for a disastrous election result.

Denying he would quit the party days after running in second position on the Liberal South Australian Senate ticket, he said the Coalition had been out-campaigned by Labor and senior members of Mr Turnbull's team should "examine their conscience" over the lacklustre result.

"I think in the end he should be asking himself if he has done the Liberal Party a service or a disservice," Senator Bernardi said.

A prominent critic of Mr Turnbull's coup against former prime minister Tony Abbott, he used an interview to argue conservative Liberals had been disciplined during the campaign but their advice to party bosses hadn't been listened to.

Senator Bernardi criticised Liberal pollster Mark Textor for what he said was a lack of respect of conservative rank and file members and said Mr Turnbull had snubbed the right wing in favour of a traditional Islamic Iftar dinner at Kirribilli House in Sydney during the campaign.

"We had circumstances where the Prime Minister was happy to hold and promote his inter-faith dinner and was more happy to be pictured with Waleed Aly than with the conservative base of the Liberal Party," Senator Bernardi said.

The criticism came despite Mr Turnbull helping raise money at the foundation's headquarters during the election campaign.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... qin07.html

[Rorschach]

It's about time Conservatives had a voice... they are usually too conservative to speak up.

Bernadi already had Cando which was populated and moderated by people who didn't like dissent. I suppose the question is will this Conservative group will be like the tea party or not.

[AnaTom]

.
Well at least he has the courage to stand up to the aged and decrepit whom now think politics is personal and love the photoshoots.

They are all self-idolators.

Bernardi in the article is right, and we need a new voice.

The geronto-plutocracy should hand back that 162 billion they swiped from the economy. They might wish to go out in 'a blaze of glory', but the rest of us don't.

So they should stop playing with themselves, and get out of the way.