The likely defeat of Zed Seselja could potentially be the greatest gift to ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee.
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With Seselja gone, Lee, who has moderate views, will be the most senior Liberal to hold office in the territory.
Across Australia, the Liberals will be undergoing a reckoning, with results in inner-city seats clearly punishing the party for lurching too far to the right and not taking meaningful action on climate change.
This has happened in the ACT but it has happened in the Senate where, with only two territory positions, it should be much harder. David Pocock's popularity, progressive policies and a well-oiled campaign by the independent was definitely a strong factor, but Seselja put the final nail in the coffin.
Liberal sources say the local branches of the Canberra Liberal party have shifted to the far right under the watch of Seselja, first as the ACT Opposition leader and then as the territory's Liberal senator. The Canberra Liberals, as an organisation, have become one of the most conservative in the nation in the most progressive jurisdiction.
The youth wing of the Canberra Liberals is notoriously conservative. One only needs to look at its social media posts, including one saying abortion was the leading cause of death and a now-deleted post which celebrated comments made by Senator Matt Canavan against net zero.
This was the same branch which held a dinner last year where a lump of coal from the Adani coal mine was auctioned and sold for $2600 and where the speaker was Kevin Andrews, the man responsible for implementing a ban on the territories' ability to legislate on voluntary assisted dying.
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Lee and other ACT Liberal members attended this dinner, but this is the sort of stuff she can no longer afford to entertain if she wants to be the territory's chief minister.
The Canberra Liberals have to reform from the bottom up or they will condemn themselves to a life of being pariahs of the political wilderness.
The party has already been in opposition for more than two decades in the territory. If Lee wants to change this, she needs to wield her influence and dampen the conservative domination.
This may result in the loss of members, but it may also result in the gain of more moderate ones.
The Liberals have clearly pinpointed the issues which afflict the territory government, including housing, health, education and corrections. Lee has also been outspoken on women's rights and supports climate action.
All healthy democracies need an alternative government but with local Liberal branches dominated by people motivated by ideology, the party has struggled.
The election of Lee to Liberal leader in 2020 was the first sign of change.
The likely defeat of Seselja is the second.
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