Senator Cory Bernardi has announced he will begin the process of formally deregistering the Australian Conservatives as a political party after a disappointing result at the last election.
In a statement posted on the Australian Conservatives website, Senator Bernardi said many potential voters returned to supporting the Coalition when Malcolm Turnbull was replaced by Scott Morrison.
In a bid to avoid a Shorten government, hundreds of Party members claimed to have voted for the Coalition first followed by the Australian Conservatives.
“Although we made it clear in the lead-up to the campaign that we were only running in the Senate so as not to be the catalyst for a change of government, our message didn’t get through,” Bernardi said.
The Senator went on to acknowledge Scott Morrison’s appointment as Prime Minister has positively changed the political climate from what it was under Turnbull’s Labor-lite leadership.
The idea of a more Conservative government under Morrison’s leadership led many to return their political support to the Coalition.
According to Senator Bernardi: “The inescapable conclusion from our lack of political success, our financial position and the re-election of a Morrison-led Government is that the rationale for the creation of the Australian Conservatives is no longer valid.”
Bernardi went on to explain: “On 7 February, 2017 I told a journalist that political success for the Australian Conservatives could be loosely described as being no longer necessary because the Coalition had returned to its traditional policy roots and would once again win back the confidence of the Australian people…
“The Morrison government victory and policy agenda suggests we are well on the way to restoring common sense in the Australian parliament. That is all we, as Australian Conservatives, have ever sought to do.”
