Much to the collective annoyance of left-wing media, Advance Australia hosted their excellent Evolve conference last Friday and Saturday.
The event’s opening remarks made it clear that the political winds of global conservatism are blowing a gale everywhere except within Australia.
Around the world, politics is changing. Donald Trump is in the White House again. Reform UK, led by Brexit firebrand Nigel Farage, is on track to win government. And across Europe, a political storm is raging, with new centre-right parties pushing back against the tired old establishment – and winning. A whole new world is here … one that could leave Australia behind. Until now.
Conservatism is not unpopular, fading, or confined to the Boomers and Battlers – it simply looks different in the Digital Age.
A new generation of conservatives have grown organically from the decay left behind by the Woke education system. They remain disconnected from the broad church and are feeling out their Blue Ribbon values from lived experience rather than having them dictated by political history. Hunting and gathering this critical generation has become a topic of immense importance for the likes of Angus Taylor and David Littleproud.
This Advance event was all about recognising and facilitating political change. To take the fight out of the headlines and onto the streets. Preferably all the way to the ballot box. Even the conference name, Evolve, nods to the need for established conservatives to evolve their mindset. (Not modernise. That word should henceforth be banned.)
Featuring a line-up of political stars including Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Alex Antic, Moira Deeming, and Tony Abbott – Evolve brought together the kindling of what many hope will be a revival. They were joined by international speakers, think tanks, and Advance team members.
Salvaging the Liberal Party is a complex matter, not least of all because there remains resistance to attending events such as Evolve and CPAC from within the party itself. These are ministers and advisers who think conservatism is too conservative.
It is my view that such ideologically disloyal individuals should be named, shamed, and sent off to a re-education camp. Opposing conservative conferences displays a level of paranoia usually reserved for squirrels checking to see if their nuts are safe.
Evolve, and events like it, ensure politicians escape their focus group bubbles. There won’t be many more chances. The Liberal Party has been haemorrhaging voters ever since Malcolm Turnbull shoved a few bad polls through Tony Abbott’s legacy and paddled around the waters near his harbourside manor attempting to look relatable to the common taxpayer. While it is easy to pin much of the blame on Turnbull, Morrison and Dutton did their fair share of damage while Sussan Ley silenced the dwindling supporters with her oppressive ‘listening’.
Fair play to those who predicted the Liberal Party would have to be gutted to kill the Moderates off. The conservatives have dragged themselves to the edge of extinction to free themselves of the sticky wet grip of corporate centrism. The toll of this necessary self-destruction could be sensed in the crowd of Evolve. It was evident from spontaneous cheers, mutters of approval, and pointed questions to the speakers that a sizeable portion of the Blue Ribbon attendees were paid-up members of the Orange Wave. The rise of Pauline Hanson and her normalisation through the heartland of conservatism is not merely a polling trick used to topple Sussan Ley, but rather a genuine political movement many in the Liberal Party fear has the potential to build into a Reform-style reshuffling of power.
Legacy, nostalgia, and the Sunk Cost Fallacy no longer guarantee the Liberals remain the inheritors of Menzies’ dream. Conservative voters will have the final say on that front.
To me, it appears the people working the hardest to save the Liberal Party are the ones sidelined, punished, and exiled. Talk of structural reforms to state constitutions to reward merit and increase membership support are seen as vicious attacks. There is something deeply wrong with a party that tries to kill off its rescuers.
The political figures who did attend offered hope to the party faithful in their speeches. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was particularly candid with the audience, answering questions with a refreshing level of clarity.
Price’s frustration with Indigenous activist politics and mindless gender quotas for women was evident. The room remained impressed by her energy and a new sort of ‘roughness’ of tone that she has picked up since being temporarily dismissed to the backbench by Ley. The trials of Canberra have created a more robust version of Price without losing the playful charm of the ‘No’ campaign which traumatised several left-wing journalists.
Moira Deeming faces a preselection battle following the Victorian Liberal Party’s insane war of attrition against her. Deeming is immensely popular with members and voters who admire her courage in the battlefield of women’s rights while suffering at the hands of her own party. Her speech left the room believing that if she can win her preselection, perhaps the Victorian Liberals can be saved.
I did not catch Alex Antic’s speech, but I heard the echo of it the following day, such was the impression he made on the crowd. He too is under pressure from the moderates but has the luxury of time. (Social media is salivating over a photo of Antic sitting with One Nation’s Cory Bernardi. Note to sleuths: secret political meetings do not take place in public cafes. Well, I hope they don’t.)
Liberal Senator Alex Antic has been spotted sharing drinks with newly appointed SA One Nation leader Cory Bernardi, as rumours persist of a possible defection. https://t.co/yAWzzuuncr
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 23, 2026
There seems to be something about being charismatic, powerful, articulate, and conservative that sets the Liberal factional forces into a frenzy. In my opinion, Antic is easily the most natural Faragian leader with the required charisma to draw back conservatives to the Liberal Party. And yes, this task will take a significant amount of personal charm. Dry sermons about economics, culture, and energy are the politics of last century.
The most active former Prime Minister in the country is Tony Abbott. Some even suspect there might be a comeback on the cards… Who knows. While his peers are frightened of their own opinions, Tony Abbott has been putting pen-to-paper with Churchillian vigour. Secured by the privilege of his legacy and protected position as a former Prime Minister, he has used his private blog to nudge the Overton Window for his party.
The Prime Minister says that we have to lower the temperature of our public discourse. True. So let’s stop adding to the tensions; in particular, by scaling immigration way down, at least until infrastructure and social cohesion can catch up. That means weaning language schools… pic.twitter.com/ddVEqRWCFw
— Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) February 23, 2026
Abbott has taken the lead on rallying behind Angus Taylor, perhaps in the hope that with enough support he can lift his voice to match the enormous task of removing Albanese from power.
In an interesting strategic move, Abbott has shifted the discussion about Pauline Hanson and One Nation, finally realising that attacking her was a losing strategy for the Liberal Party. The new tactic seems to be applauding Pauline for her policy positions, ideological stamina, and loyalty to Australia, while gently reinforcing scepticism about the party’s leadership prospects. It is a much softer version of the line. This example from Abbott’s blog summarises the sentiment:
The recent poll surge for One Nation shows millions of Australians are hungry for leaders who speak their mind on energy security, national security, and unalloyed pride in our country. Much as I respect Pauline Hanson, and admire her courage and consistency, I doubt even she thinks that she’s an entirely credible alternative Prime Minister, hence her recent offer to join in coalition with the Liberal and National parties, and hence the urgent need for the Liberal and National parties to unite around a new leadership team that takes Hanson voters’ concerns seriously.
This approach is more astute than the bewildering only jabs taken by Senator Canavan, many of which end in ratio-ing and members storming off to join Senator Hanson.
The challenge for the Liberals remains that they are attempting to rebuild their party of 30 years ago, with a handful of proper conservatives, in the middle of a raging culture war, with Labor deliberating eroding Australia’s Western demographic voter base, while trying to speak to young Australians on social media platforms they tried to ban, all while effectively being forced to copy One Nation policy after deriding the party as fringe for decades.
This is a task which requires every member of the Liberal Party to join. Those who attended the Evolve conference clearly believe the restoration is possible and that the old church can be mended.
There is new talent. There is hope. Evolve proved it. Perhaps Angus Taylor and his Deputy can open the next conference and reward the party faithful with tangible hope…
Flat White is written by Alexandra Marshall. If you would like to support her work, shout her a coffee over at donor-box.
