Conservative politics in Australia looks to be in the worst shape it has ever been in. How many policies does Sussan Ley’s Liberal party have at the moment? None. How does she support the conservative members of her party? Half-heartedly or not at all. Is she electable in 2028?  No.

So what do conservatives do in Australia? Do we wait patiently until failure drives the Liberals back to the Menzies/Howard/Abbott tradition? Do we rant ineffectually from the sidelines? Do we look longingly at Britain’s Reform party and America’s Republican party and mutter, ‘Well, one day, perhaps, here…’?

No! There is a way that can be acted on immediately that will change the political landscape dramatically, powerfully and in a conservative direction. Here it is – step by step.

Step 1: every conservative member of the federal Liberal party resigns en masse from the party and joins the National party. Antic, Cash, Taylor, Hastie, Price, Chandler… all of them. (This would mean, of course, that Price would return to her old party. But, hey, that’s happened before! Billy Hughes famously shuttled between parties, as did Winston Churchill.)

Every conservative Liberal party member should then jump ship. This would change the Libs from being the Titanic to the Mary Celeste.This would make the Nationals the largest party (the senior party) in opposition, and David Littleproud would become opposition leader. He has ten times the communications skills of Ley, and comes across as a ‘safe pair of hands’. Leadership would switch immediately from the timid kindergarten teacher to the likable, relatable, normal bloke.

Part of the benefit would be that Ley could do whatever she wished with her loony, left-wing rump of a party, and it wouldn’t matter.

This would more than shift the political landscape – it would be an earthquake that reshapes it. It would instantly shift the Overton window – what it’s possible to say in public, and what is verboten. At the moment it is stuck in Place Stupid – as Price discovered when she spoke aloud a couple of facts about mass immigration, and was attacked by everyone who was still bubbling with resentment over losing the Voice referendum (which she won!)

Step 2: start selecting a National party candidate for every federal seat for the next election. This would be a signal of the new, larger National party’s true national intentions. And putting a major party front and centre that speaks in a normal Aussie voice about normal Aussie values would leave the ALP badly shaken and throw them off their stride.

Step 3: dissolve the formal coalition with the Liberal party rump. This would mean that the entire opposition front bench could be composed of National party members and packed with talent! If after the next election this dynamic new National party won the most seats, but not enough to form government, it could invite the Libs to join as junior coalition member (making Ley, or her replacement, deputy PM and giving them a few ministerial positions – but retaining Nationals dominance).

Step 4: this truly national National party would then start nailing its colours to the mast. Littleproud could move a private member’s Bill to remove the shameful moratorium banning nuclear science in Australia. This would allow any university to start a department of nuclear science, Australians to be trained (in Australia!) on nuclear propulsion and open the door to an aluminium smelter with a small modular reactor. This would require a large capital outlay, but result in (almost) free electrical power for the next 80 years.

There are, undoubtedly, many other steps which would have this ‘colour nailing’ impact for Australia’s new National conservative party (banning the burning of the Australia flag?) that would exploit Aussie common sense and seize the high ground.

Those are the four steps that would reclaim Australia for common sense. I understand that politicians can get very nervous and reluctant to rock the boat. But if we don’t rock this particular boat it will be wrecked on the rocks that even now are looming ahead of us through the pounding waves!

Courageous, decisive action could rescue Australia from a dim Marxist future, in which the lights slowly go out. But will it happen?