Conservative dilemma in Bennelong

Trend News To Day in Google - IN socially conservative Bennelong, where the No vote in the same-sex marriage survey was 25 percent higher than the Australian average, it is a Generation Y unknown who could determine the fate of the Turnbull government.

With Labor’s Kristina Keneally and former sitting Liberal John Alexander both enthusiastic Yes voters, that left an opening for Senator Cory Bernardi to test his fledgling Australian Conservatives party, whose branch meetings in Putney have been stuffed with disaffected Liberals.

Joram Richa, a charming 25-year-old Maronite Catholic from Hunters Hill, who just finished his final law exams last Saturday, will be Bernardi’s first candidate to face the public, in the Bennelong by-election on December 19.

An athlete and academic whiz kid, Joram is part of a new breed of motivated young conservatives who have been galvanised by the bullying and intimidation they experienced during the same sex marriage campaign.

“It was a chance for young people to recognise there are other people out there who share the same views and are not afraid to speak up for our values,” he said.

“I come from a school of thought where there is an objective truth, and we don’t make up the rules according to our own whims.

“I look at the baby-boomers, in terms of politics, and the mess they’ve created…

Australian Conservatives candidate Joram Richa talks to Labor candidate Kristina Keneally at the Australian Electoral Commission on Friday. (Pic: Craig Wilson/AAP)

“No disrespect, but nowadays, with everything that’s going on in the world, we can’t afford to have tired politicians who are vulnerable to people pushing their own agendas. We need people who are clear in their own beliefs and who can stand up and sacrifice… They might be attacked and shunned but they won’t be too worried about political correctness and comprising their values.”

For Joram, the Liberal Party long ago compromised its core values, and the Turnbull government’s failure so far to include religious protections in the upcoming marriage bill only cements his discontent.

“The Liberal party isn’t conservative any more… I’m sick of this lukewarm muddling of everything… If you’re conservative don’t think the Liberals will have your back.”

Australian Conservatives fits the bill for the “cynical idealists” of Generation Y, he says.

“Cory is a top bloke, and a family man. He’s just not a liar. You don’t get the impression like you do with other politicians that he’s duplicitous. He is a man of integrity, there to do what he thinks is the right thing”.

Bernardi will probably direct preferences to his former Liberal party, but even then, vote leakage could be as high as 50 percent.

Splitting the conservative vote could cost the Turnbull government, not just Bennelong, but its majority in parliament.

Therein lies the dilemma for conservative voters: do they reward a flawed party they feel has betrayed them, or do they vote with their conscience for Joram Richa, but risk handing power to a far worse government run by Bill Shorten.

Source: cairnspost.com.au