Conservatism in Crisis

Since the 2025 federal election, the Liberal Party has been in disarray, beset by a demoralised base, two Coalition splits from the Nationals, bitter party infighting and the serious threat of One Nation. How did it come to this?

In this edition of The Fifth Estate, Editor-at-Large of The Australian Paul Kelly (The Twilight of Exceptionalism) and award-winning columnist and former Labor advisor Sean Kelly (The Game) come together with host Sally Warhaft to discuss the fractures at the heart of conservative politics in Australia and what they mean for the upcoming Victorian election.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from two of the country’s most prominent political commentators as they analyse how conservative politics lost its way – and what it would take for the Coalition to win back the trust of Australian voters.

Presented in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and supported by the City of Greater Bendigo.

Bookseller: Bookish.

Wednesday 22 July, 6-7pm
Ulumbarra Theatre

Pricing:

  • Champion: $20
  • Fair share: $15
  • Community: $12
  • Accessible: $ 10
  • Supported: $5
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Presenters

Paul Kelly

Paul Kelly is editor-at-large and a former editor-in-chief of The Australian. He writes on Australian politics, policy, history and international relations, and has covered every prime minister from Gough Whitlam to Anthony Albanese. He has written or co-authored twelve books on our politics and history.

Kelly is a regular television commentator. He has been a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a visiting fellow at Kings’ College London and a fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. He has a doctorate from the University of Melbourne and is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Sean Kelly

Sean Kelly is the author of The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison, for which he was a Walkley finalist in 2022. In 2024 he was a finalist for the Walkley Foundation’s Freelance Journalist of the Year and in 2023 he was awarded the Keith Dunstan Quill for Commentary. He is a weekly columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald and a contributor to The Monthly.

Sally Warhaft

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, The Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, The Wheeler Centre’s podcast about Australians’ lives in the fog of the Covid-19 pandemic. She is a former editor of The Monthly and the author of the bestselling book Well May We Say: The Speeches that Made Australia. Sally is a regular host and commentator on ABC radio and has a PhD in anthropology. She did her fieldwork in Mumbai, India, living by the seashore with the local fishing community.