A coup in the party machine

Stephen Mutch’s piece (“How Scott Morrison became a tin-pot dictator”, April 9-15) on the origins and current state of the Liberal Party’s “moderate” faction should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in how our traditional parties of government really work. Doubtless there’s a similar piece to be written on the ALP and probably the Nationals. Perhaps most shocking is Mutch’s claim that the moderate faction has “morphed into a professionalised, essentially privatised operation, run by a small coterie of business lobbyists”. Is it any wonder that we see the Liberal Party not only oppose a federal ICAC but that it delivers endless policies and jobs that support the existing system and those who profit from it. In short, it looks like a protection racket. Our political system is in serious danger.

– Colin Hesse, Marrickville, NSW