Factional wars and external pressure from the Teals and One Nation have created the perfect storm for Liberal Party reformers.

Those who wish to save Menzies’ dream, such as the growing support base of the Liberal Reform Association, know that right now might be the last chance we get to dislodge the moderate rot occupying positions of power in the back room and to give leadership back to the members.

The reason it has been so difficult to reform the party in the past is that none of the Liberals, Nationals, or LNP constitutions allow members to actually change the constitutions. The rules are set out in the constitutions. Only delegates can do that. But the delegates and the system that appoints them are the problem. See the problem?

So, for any change to work, it has to be done outside the current constitutional rules. It can’t be done from inside.

The Liberal Party is in grave danger. Everyone knows it: the voters, the membership, the polls.

The South Australian state election helped cement rumour as reality.

If these results are repeated in the Farrer by-election and the Liberals come in a distant third, or even worse, are beaten by Canavan’s Nationals, then we’ll see a reckoning in Victoria this November. Especially after what happened with Moira Deeming’s preselection, which was nothing short of a national embarrassment.

Shuffling in a new party president will not save the Victorian Liberals, especially if we are to believe what was reported in The Australian earlier this week:

‘Although Mr Davis would step aside, his allies on the party’s state executive – aligned to the moderate wing – would be protected under the deal.’ And also that: ‘Ms Wilson’s push to elevate Mr Loughnane while protecting Mr Davis’ allies mirrors the approach that secured her leadership in November.’

Now Mr Loughnane I know is a good guy. But is this democratic reform? Hardly. Whomever takes over in Victoria will be trapped by the rules and forced to deal with people – many of whom could best be described as barking mad.

This should be enough to prove to everyone that reform must come from an external push such as that advocated by the Liberal Reform Association.

Even when faced with obvious annihilation, the factions would rather protect each other and all go over the cliff as long as they all go together.

The only thing that will work to make any effective change is a direct appeal to the members nearly all of whom, I might add, want reform.

Now, while there have been beneficial third-party activist campaigns on the right pressuring MPs and Senators one policy issue at a time – the Voice, Net Zero, immigration, supposed electoral reform – a true Liberal Party with 250,000 members Australia wide would have great candidates and good policy on its own without having to be nannied.

Sitting politicians, despite understanding the problem and nodding in agreement to our proposals, refuse to help because they are beholden to the delegate structure.

They are frightened. We understand that. Yes, they all talk big, but they have families, and they have mortgages. They will come on board later because they won’t have a job if they don’t.

For those unfamiliar with how the party works, delegates are a dreadfully outdated mechanism in which members elect delegates in easily gamed appointment processes to represent the members in voting for all the senior organisational positions and many parliamentary preselections.

When an MP or Senator considers a policy, let’s say Net Zero, it is first and foremost viewed through the lens of, ‘Will I lose the next preselection, or will I lose my funding from my friendly supporters of the renewables technology industry or whatever?’ These are the wrong incentives for good governance.

For at least 15 years now, technology has allowed every member to attend every meeting and vote in every party officer and representative and participate in the policy determinations.

And it can all be done from home.

The delegate system was a fabulous system in the horse and buggy era of the 1890s when thousands of members simply couldn’t make it to distant party meetings. So they appointed delegates to go in their place and represent them.

Even in 1944, when Menzies formed the Liberal Party, it still made sense, but not today.

As it stands, every Liberal MP and Senator is a slave to the undemocratic and unrepresentative delegate system of handshakes, promises, winks, and IOUs that have very little to do with what the paid-up membership want.

The Liberal Reform Association firmly believes, as Menzies did, that politicians should answer to their members and that policies should serve the electorate. Under our proposed new rules, the politicians should be judged before each election by the members, as to whether they are doing the job properly. The important metric will be merit not delegate capture.

We are not the first Liberals to mount an attack on this rotten system.

Readers may recall then Liberal, now Libertarian MLC, John Ruddick, who wrote, ‘Make the Liberal Party Great Again’. It is available free from our website, by the way.

Thank you, John.

But John found himself evicted from the party for his trouble.

What sort of party punishes those who want to save it?

Similarly, Liberal Reform Association directors Heath Goddard and I have been suspended for daring to say what every Liberal Party member can see with their own eyes, that something has gone horribly wrong and that the party is dying.

But as I said, all is not lost, but we do need help.

We need influential political people who are free to campaign without worrying about delegate numbers or personal consequences.

In other words, former politicians.

Fifteen years ago, John Howard would have been a perfect candidate. Today, there are a dozen or so Liberals capable of holding the sword. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott is probably the leading one. Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson is another. Former Premier Jeff Kennett, former Treasurer Peter Costello, former Howard Minister Gary Hardgrave, former LNP Premiers Borbidge and Newman, former Senator Eric Abetz…

The crucial thing for them is that they are individuals who cannot be intimidated.

They could potentially help shame executive branches into changing their constitutions. The problem is you have to rely on the power brokers voting against themselves. And yes, we understand that this is a little like asking Kim Jong-un to dismantle communism.

Very unlikely, but this has to be done first so that everyone can see exactly what the problem is. You can’t go directly to the members without first trying the delegates.

But these former party leaders can say the simple truth with impunity.

No one gives up power easily. They will fight and scream and complain and suspend everyone who tries.

This is why those who came before us to try and reform the party have failed.

But we, the Liberal Reform Association are not for turning.

Heath and I are even prepared to take on the Queensland party vice presidency and presidency, respectively, and drive the member-led changes.

We propose the Menzies approach. As it stands, the membership cannot change their party constitution.

So a new constitution would have to be presented to the members at a separate meeting or meetings and voted on by the members. Thousands of people will turn up. Many meetings can be done online. Join us for free if you want to be part of this online process.

We are close to finishing a simple federal and state/territory constitutional model.

All party officers from the local state electorate branches to the state and federal presidents and their executive would be voted on by the members, not delegates. Party members will determine the policy not the politicians alone.

The politicians will only be selected by members, as many are now, but this will cover all local government candidates and all state and federal politicians. Members and members alone will be the preselectors.

The party parliamentary leaders will also be elected by the members, not their parliamentary colleagues.

Members could, for instance, nominate Angus Taylor, Alex Antic, Jacinta Price, Matt Canavan, or even Tony Abbott. More importantly, once elected by the members, only the members can sack them.

The leader does not have to be in Parliament to be elected leader under our new rules. Tony Abbott could put up his hand.

This would be the end of an era and the beginning of the future with a base strong enough to lead the nation for another century.

In short, it would save the Liberal Party.

To those of you who still hold influence, we ask, what if you could have saved the party?

The membership is standing up, but where are its political heroes?

What would Menzies have done today if he saw a group of devoted members trying to save the party?

It’s no good invoking the name of Menzies if his spirit is forgotten.

He was a fighter, and he was neither afraid of fighting nor losing. Australians fear they are losing their country. They want a real say in the coming fight for our culture and way of life. We need to change the party rules to let them have a say and sort out the leaders who they can get behind.

Our supporters in the Liberal Reform Association love this country and we believe it is worth fighting for. Will you help us?