The Canberra Liberals' federal election campaign was "doomed before it started" but the result offers the party a chance for a reset, an internal review has found.
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The review noted the 2022 election delivered the worst result for the Liberal Party since 1972, but suggested former senator ACT Zed Seselja's conservatism was as much to blame as demographic shifts.
But future candidates need to reflect the ACT's population and engage meaningfully with the electorate.
Mr Seselja lost the race for the ACT's second senate spot to independent candidate David Pocock, leaving the territory with no federal Liberal representatives for the first time since 1975.
Dissatisfaction with former prime minister Scott Morrison's leadership was also a "major factor in the loss of support".
"The hard nose conclusion is that the Liberal Party in the ACT went into the 2022 federal [election] in a nearly impossible electoral position and went on to lose the campaign," the review said.
Preparatory work was not done over the previous term of government, which left the party in an unwinnable position, the review, seen by The Canberra Times, found.
The Canberra Liberals had a confused position on climate change, which cost votes in the ACT where climate was ranked by polled voters as an important issue.
"This is a policy issue that needs to be addressed and settled so that it does not become a policy distraction at the next election," the review said.
To win back a Senate seat in the ACT, the Liberals need to engage with a broader and more diverse demographic to boost its grassroots support.
The review recommended the party's management committee identify community groups, organisations and people who could help broad the party's membership base.
The ACT party's management committee should also request the policy committee meet with all members to provide more opportunities for members to provide input into policy decisions.
"This process provides an opportunity of direct engagement, reinforces the importance of membership consultation and inclusion, and engagement," the review said.
The federal Liberal Party also cannot afford to ignore why support has fallen among women, the review found.
"It is no accident that whilst our female representation is low, the female vote is low, a fact used against us with the Teal movement supporting female candidates, many who came (or claimed to come from) notionally Liberal backgrounds," the review said.
Canberra Liberals polling from March 2022 found there had been a 10-percentage point drop in the primary vote, falling from 32 per cent in 2019 to 22 per cent in 2022.
The polling also showed personal support for Mr Seselja declined in the same period, the review said.
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Mr Seselja's primary vote in 2022 was 24.8 per cent.
"The long-time decline in the ALP vote, combined with the increase in the independent vote in 2022 together with the fact the Canberra Liberals now no longer need to run an election strategy centred around sand bagging the Senate also offers opportunities for innovative campaign approaches in the future," the review said.
The review was written by Mike Nahan, a former leader of the Liberals in Western Australia, and former Victorian Liberal senator Helen Kroger.
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