Struggling Liberals seek reboot in winter of discontent

By Andrew Brown, Zac de Silva and Tess Ikonomou
libs
Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor are aiming to reconnect with disaffected voters in the winter break. -AAP Image

Liberal MPs will hope a five-week break can give the party a chance to reset with voters as Angus Taylor embarks on a nationwide election-style sales pitch.

Parliament has risen for the long winter break, with the coalition trailing in the polls behind the Labor government and One Nation.

The opposition leader is hopeful of cutting through with voters during a campaign-style blitz across every state and territory, which will include community and business forums in marginal electorates.

The coalition ends the first half of the parliamentary year on a record low 17 per cent of the primary vote, according to Newspoll, causing some MPs behind the scenes to question Mr Taylor's long-term leadership prospects.

Coalition frontbencher Andrew Hastie, who has been touted as a potential future party leader, denied suggestions he could soon be leaving the Liberals.

He was prepared to take the fight to One Nation, he said.

"I am here to stay and I will recontest the next election. It's as simple as that," Mr Hastie told Sydney radio station 2GB on Thursday.

"I've decided that I need to fight for the Liberal Party, and if I'm getting attacked by Pauline Hanson and (her chief of staff) James Ashby and Barnaby Joyce, then it looks weak to not respond."

Mr Hastie has faced online abuse after giving evidence against accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith, triggering security upgrades for his house.

He said the coalition needed to point out flaws in Labor policies as well as those by One Nation.

"We need to deliver centre-right government for the Australian people. We need to focus on the Australian people's challenges and problems," he said.

One Nation's rise in the polls has abated slightly following leader Pauline Hanson's speech at the National Press Club where she called for a monoculture.

But she said she was not concerning by the drop in voter support following the address.

"(Polls) are like a stock exchange. I go up one day, down the next," she told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

"The true poll is on election day."

Labor is heading into the break on a high after its contentious tax reform measures passed parliament, with the government experiencing a bounce in opinion polls.

But hurdles remain with the coalition yet to provide support to NDIS reforms, or to strengthening a social media ban for under 16s.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government had been providing progress.

"Whilst Australians can rely upon the Labor Party to deliver real change, they know that the three right-wing parties, the axis of grievance, will oppose all of the positive measures," he told parliament.

"We choose progress over protest, we choose action over anger, we choose outcomes over outrage."

The final sitting week was marred by Liberal MP Garth Hamilton being suspended from the lower house for 24 hours for swearing and storming out of the chamber.

Responding to a Labor attack on comments Mr Taylor had made about bushfire management, Mr Hamilton - a former volunteer firefighter - slammed his desk drawer shut and shouted "f***ing bullshit".

Speaker Milton Dick described the incident as a "new low", but Mr Hamilton was unrepentant and said the government's attacks on Mr Taylor were "gutter politics".

The sitting week also coincided with the annual Midwinter Ball, where MPs and senators dressed up in their finest.

The black-tie affair raised $370,000 for charity.