The federal government could crack down on unregulated text messages and robocalls used by political parties in response to the "Mediscare" text messages sent during the final days of the federal election campaign.
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In the first post-election Coalition party room meeting in Canberra, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull lashed out at the use of fake Medicare text messages sent to voters in the final days of the campaign, declaring, "If that wasn't a crime, it should be one."
The meeting followed a lengthy gathering of Liberal MPs during which the party's federal director Tony Nutt and pollster Mark Textor fronted the MPs on the election result.
However, a foreshadowed revolt against proposed superannuation changes did not materialise.
Just one MP raised the issue, arguing that, while the proposed $6 billion in savings affected just 4 per cent of people, it had created uncertainty in the community and upset the party's base.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott made a strong intervention in the party room discussion too, arguing that the poor result in the NSW branch of the Liberal Party emphasised the need for reform, greater democratisation and the empowering of grassroots party members.
These comments were broadly welcomed by Mr Turnbull and deputy leader Julie Bishop.
On election night, the Prime Minister said the Medicare texts - apparently sent by Queensland Labor and which stated "Mr Turnbull's plans to privatise Medicare will take us down the road of no return. Time is running out to Save Medicare" - were an "an extraordinary act of dishonesty".
He returned to that theme on Monday, arguing the Medicare texts were one of the most outrageous lies he had ever seen in politics, while Ms Bishop noted that Labor had boasted about the success of its scare campaign.
The use of the Medicare text messages, and the bombarding of households with robocalls, had raised "fundamental questions about the operation of Australia's democracy", Mr Turnbull said.
The Liberal Party room spokesman added that changing the rules to, for example, require a declaration of party affiliation following a text message or robocall - as is required for other advertising - was "something on people's minds", but not yet formally on the government's agenda.
Mr Turnbull hailed the result after a tough campaign that had seen his government returned with a reduced majority, adding that "we have much to learn from the campaign".
"This has to be a term of delivery, we are not going to hit the ground reviewing, we are going to hit the ground doing ... what we must do is ensure that in 2019, people will see that we have delivered," Mr Turnbull told colleagues.
Mr Nutt said he took full responsibility for the campaign as director, that the Prime Minister's personal standing with voters had been crucial to the Coalition's win, and that a far-reaching review of the campaign would be undertaken.
Several MPs complained about aspects of the Coalition's campaign strategy, arguing there had been too much focus on the innovation agenda and on jobs in the "new" economy.
Responding to complaints that the election ads had not been negative enough, Mr Nutt said the "fake tradie" ad had worked as a negative ad.
Mr Textor told the party room that his internal party research showed that people living in the outer suburbs of Sydney were more cynical than anywhere else in Australia because of high living costs.
The research also showed that voters' anxiety about their jobs had replaced cost of living concerns as the number one issue for voters since 2010.
That, as a result, meant the campaign strategy had emphasised the Coalition's economic competence and management ability, and had been largely positive.
