Torchbearers for Liberalism

The MRC has a critical role to play in keeping alive the flame of liberalism during a challenging time for the Liberal Party, writes Nick Cater in his introduction to our 2022 Annual Review.

When I wrote the introduction to last year’s report, the Liberal Party was in government in Canberra and three out of six states. As we publish this report, the party is in opposition federally and four state parliaments. It faces a challenging election in NSW in nine months’ time.

The Menzies Research Centre will play a vital role in restoring Liberalism’s fortunes. It falls to us to shape ideas and formulate persuasive policies that look to the future and inspire hope.

Our worsening economic circumstances and strategic threats make this task peculiarly challenging. Yet we must remind ourselves that we have been here twice before.

The MRC was borne out of the frustration of more than a decade in opposition in Canberra. In its first two years, the MRC laid the ground for the election of John Howard.

After the 2007 defeat of the Coalition, we kept the Liberal flame alive even when the party was out of government federally and in every state.

We helped equip Tony Abbott to win a landslide in 2013.

The MRC has continued to grow in the last nine years enabling us to become louder and more active in the public square. With your support, I believe we will rise to the extraordinary challenges we face in the next federal term of government.

Our goal is to turn the 2025 election into a contest of ideas rather than a low-grade slanging match. That is a battle we know we can win.