They were actively denigrating the Liberal party
As Tony Abbott prepares to assume the Liberal party's federal presidency — the sole nominee for a role that is his by default — his formal departure from the rightwing advocacy group Advance has done less to reassure party moderates than to sharpen their anxieties. The question his elevation poses is an old one in democratic politics: whether a party, having lost ground at the center, chooses to broaden its appeal or to deepen its conviction. What Abbott does with the machinery of the Liberal party — and who he installs to run it — may answer that question before the next election is even called.
- Abbott's guaranteed ascent to Liberal federal president is less a triumph than a signal flare — insiders are watching not the appointment itself, but what appointments follow.
- The fear inside the party is specific: that Advance operatives Matthew Sheahan or Steve Doyle could be handed the federal director role, embedding a hard-right campaign culture into the party's organizational core.
- Liberal MPs are not speaking abstractly — one described Advance's tactics as going 'into race,' another called its attacks on moderate Liberals 'hysterical and beyond the pale,' language that suggests the wound is already open.
- Advance's own post-mortem of the 2025 election acknowledged its campaign was poorly calibrated, yet the group's strategy is widely seen as having inadvertently aided Labor's victory — making its potential elevation inside the Liberal tent all the more alarming to moderates.
- Abbott has not answered whether his extensive overseas and rightwing institutional ties will continue after Friday's formal election, leaving a silence that his critics are filling with their own conclusions.
- The party now stands at a fork: recalibrate toward metropolitan moderates who have already abandoned it, or consolidate on ideological ground that has so far proven electorally costly.
Tony Abbott is departing his advisory role at Advance, the rightwing advocacy group he has been affiliated with since early 2023, as he prepares to become the Liberal party's federal president. The transition is largely procedural — he is the sole nominee after Alexander Downer chose to run for vice-president instead — but his exit from Advance has done little to calm nerves inside the party. If anything, it has focused them.
The anxiety centres on who Abbott might install as federal director, the party's chief organisational post. Liberal insiders have named Advance's director Matthew Sheahan and Steve Doyle of Whitestone Strategic — the consultancy underpinning Advance's operations — as candidates they fear Abbott might favour. For MPs already worried about the party's standing in metropolitan electorates, the prospect of Advance operatives running the party's campaign machinery is not a theoretical concern. One MP told The Guardian that Advance's tactics 'go into race' and have no place near a governing party. Another called its attacks on moderate Liberals 'hysterical and beyond the pale.'
Advance presents itself as a nonpartisan conservative counterweight to GetUp, but it has not shied from targeting Liberal members it deemed ideologically insufficient. Its own assessment of the 2025 election acknowledged that its campaign was poorly calibrated, and some Liberal-aligned observers believe its approach helped Labor rather than hindered it — a damning verdict given that the Cormack Foundation, the Liberal party's own investment vehicle, donated half a million dollars to the group ahead of that election.
Abbott's post-parliamentary years have been spent accumulating roles across a network of conservative institutions — the Institute of Public Affairs, the Ramsay Centre, Fox Corporation, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, and others. Whether those affiliations continue after his formal election on Friday remains unanswered; Abbott did not respond when asked.
Some insiders hold out hope that Abbott will govern as a unifying figure, conscious of his backstage role and reluctant to overshadow opposition leader Angus Taylor. But the deeper worry persists. The Liberal party has already lost metropolitan seats to independents and faces a structural challenge in rebuilding a broad electoral coalition. Whether Abbott's presidency marks the beginning of a recalibration — or a doubling down on the ideological direction that has already cost the party ground — is the question his first appointments may answer.
Tony Abbott is stepping away from his advisory role at Advance, the rightwing advocacy group where he has sat since early 2023, as he prepares to take the helm of the Liberal party as its new federal president. The move is formal and expected—he informed Advance of his departure upon his election to the position, which is all but guaranteed since he is the sole nominee after former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer opted instead to run for vice-president. But his exit from one door has opened anxieties about which doors he might open at the other.
Liberal insiders are troubled by the prospect that Abbott might bring Advance operatives into the party's machinery, specifically naming Matthew Sheahan, Advance's director, or Steve Doyle, who runs Whitestone Strategic, the consultancy that supports Advance's operations. Either could be positioned to fill the vacant federal director role—the party's chief organizational post—a move that party members worry would accelerate the Liberal shift rightward and damage its standing in metropolitan electorates where moderate voters still hold sway. The concern is not abstract. One MP told The Guardian that Advance's campaign tactics, which the group itself has acknowledged were poorly calibrated during the 2025 election, "go into race" and have no place near a governing party. Another described the group's attacks on moderate Liberals as "hysterical and beyond the pale."
Abbott's relationship with Advance has been a source of friction within the party for some time. Though Advance presents itself as nonpartisan—a conservative counterweight to the leftwing advocacy group GetUp—it has not hesitated to attack Liberal members it deemed insufficiently ideological. The Cormack Foundation, the Liberal party's own investment vehicle, donated half a million dollars to Advance ahead of the 2025 election, yet the group's public strategy that year focused on targeting the Greens and, in its own assessment, concluded the Coalition lacked the campaign infrastructure to seriously challenge Labor. Some Liberal-aligned observers suggested Advance's approach inadvertently helped Labor win.
Abbott's post-parliamentary years have been spent accumulating positions across a constellation of rightwing and conservative organizations. Beyond Advance, he holds roles with the Institute of Public Affairs, the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, the Fox Corporation, and the UK-based Global Warming Policy Foundation. He is also affiliated with the Danube Institute and the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. When asked whether these overseas ties would continue after his formal election as federal president on Friday, Abbott did not respond.
The former prime minister lost his own seat to independent Zali Steggall in 2019, ending his time in Parliament. His return to the Liberal party machinery as federal president marks a significant re-entry into formal party politics, albeit in a backstage role. Some insiders hold out hope that Abbott might surprise skeptics and govern as a unifying figure, reluctant to overshadow opposition leader Angus Taylor. But the anxiety runs deeper. One MP summed up the worry plainly: without a campaign director capable of running a nationally balanced campaign, the party faces electoral peril. The question now is whether Abbott's elevation signals a party willing to recalibrate toward the center, or one doubling down on the ideological ground that has already cost it metropolitan seats.
Citas Notables
I won't even call them frenemies; they were actively denigrating the Liberal party— Liberal insider to The Guardian
That stuff goes into race. It's not for a governing political party and it shouldn't be anywhere near us— Liberal MP to The Guardian
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter who Abbott appoints as federal director? Isn't that an internal party matter?
Because the federal director runs the party's campaign machinery and organizational structure. If that person comes from Advance, it means the party's strategy, messaging, and candidate selection get filtered through an ideological lens that has already proven electorally damaging in the cities where elections are won.
But Abbott is stepping down from Advance. Doesn't that show he's trying to separate the two?
On paper, yes. But insiders are reading it differently—they see him leaving one position to take another where he has the power to hire people from Advance into the party itself. It's not separation; it's integration.
What's the actual disagreement between Abbott and the moderates in his party?
It's about what the Liberal party is for. Moderates see it as a broad church that can win in suburbs and cities. Abbott and Advance see it as needing to be more ideologically pure, more willing to fight cultural battles. Those two visions are in direct conflict.
Has Advance actually hurt the Liberal party?
In the 2025 election, yes. Advance's own financial report said the Coalition was unprepared. The group's campaign strategy that year didn't help Liberals win; some observers think it actually helped Labor by dividing the anti-Labor vote.
So why would Abbott want to bring Advance people into the party if they've been a liability?
Because he believes in what they're doing ideologically. He's not trying to win back the suburbs. He's trying to reshape what the party stands for.