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COOPER GANNON, PRESIDENT, NSW YOUNG LIBERALS: That's always the issue when you're in youth politics, there's a sense of, oh, does this person really believe these things, have the life experience. I certainly like to think I do.
MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK, REPORTER: Politics can make for an interesting conversation at the Gannon household. Dad Scott was involved in the union movement, but his son has taken a decidedly different path SCOTT GANNON: Next thing you know he's getting involved with the Liberal Party, and I thought he'll grow out of that.COOPER GANNON: The family barbecues, it's funny how everyone sort of teams up on me.TIK TOK VIDEO: From the cost, to the shops, to the bills, to housing, where’s my cash ... MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: The political staffer is one half of a Young Liberal power couple alongside his wife, Sky News commentator, Freya Leach who until recently had her own show on the network FREYA LEACH: Socialists are strange, they go to protests which they film on their iPhones, thanks capitalism. They call for the overthrow of Australia, thanks freedom of speech. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: But the two are somewhat of an oddity among their generation embracing the Liberal Party. Of the 20 federal seats with the highest proportion of voters under 35, the Coalition holds only three.At Sydney University the Conservative Club is figuring out how to bounce back after the crushing result. At Sydney University the conservative club is figuring out how to bounce back after the crushing result ARYAN ILKHANI, SYDNEY UNIVERSITY CONSERVATIVE CLUB: We need to make it happen by any means possible, and if that means doing some soul searching, then we've got to do it. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Its peak politics season on campus with the Student Representative Council campaigns underway but the conservatives aren’t running a candidate this year. The club are focused on a bigger battle - how to sell the essence of the Liberal Party to young people? ARYAN ILKHANI: Those values of innovation, of embracing technological advancements, starting a business, and if we communicate those ideas well, I think we can bring young people back to our movement.MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: 7.30 has obtained a copy of the New South Wales Young Liberals submission to the federal party over the election loss in May earlier this year. It's a withering assessment of its policies and campaigning style that this says alienated key voting blocs - not just young people, but also women. GEORGIA LOWDEN, FMR PRESIDENT NSW YOUNG LIBERALS: If we're not being seen to take the issue of gender representation seriously, then it doesn't look like we're taking the Australian public seriously and they won't trust us and they won't vote for us. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Georgia Lowden was the last president of the Young Liberals in New South Wales and signed off on the submissions. It calls for a serious conversation on quotas for female candidates, something Georgia opposed in the past. GEORGIA LOWDEN: There's constant lip service to the issue, but nothing is changing. So I think that quotas are kind of necessary temporary blunt instrument to really equalize a playing field while we address the underlying cultural and structural barriers. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Charlotte Mortlock runs Hilma’s Network to specifically engage women with the Liberal Party. CHARLOTTE MORTLOCK, HILMA’S NETWORK: This very, very vital line in the sand that we can say, yes, we've had a women's issue, we've got it loud and clear. What else can we do aside from quotas that would give that strong enough message to the public that they would actually switch on and listen to us?MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Once upon a time the Liberal Party counted on much of Sydney Harbour as its heartland, but it’s been unable to win back these seats it’s lost to teal independents. GEORGIA LOWDEN: I think we do need to be committed to net zero and we need clear, credible policies on climate change. The reality is that from a purely pragmatic perspective, if we ever want to win government again, we've got to win back city seats and city seats, voters in the city seats take the issue of climate change very seriously. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Cooper Gannon took over the Young Liberals presidency from Georgia Lowden in August and he’s less interested in these ideas. COOPER GANNON: The average Aussie family isn't talking about them in their family home. You don't hear conversations around gender quotas in Western Sydney. You don't hear conversations about the merits of net zero in parts of suburban Melbourne. You do hear them in commentariat circles and obviously in the Liberal Party from a policy level. CHARLOTTE MORTLOCK: In metropolitan areas, if you take out baby boomers and elder Australians, our primary drops down to 18 per cent. I do think that there are probably other young Liberals that their views might be more aligned with a lot of the grandparents in Australia. COOPER GANNON: I fundamentally disagree. That might be the perception from the policy platform, which I would be the first person to tell you, our policy platform has not been reflecting our values as of recent, but if you drill into what's at the heart of the Liberal Party, there is a space there for young people who don't want the government to tell them how to live their lives I want the Young Liberals to be more activist, pushing the dial on key policy issues and saying to the senior party, hey, we actually think you've got the settings wrong on this one and we're going to call you out for it. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Cooper Gannon isn’t alone in calling out the party. He’s keen to invigorate his fellow young Liberals who he’s meeting with in Sydney. YOUNG LIBERAL MEMBER: We were seen as fighting culture wars and being too aggressive and not actually providing any substantial policy reform. YOUNG LIBERAL MEMBER: The lack of policy and bold ambition for the future was what let us down ultimately in the election. MYLES HOULBROOK-WALK: Charlotte Mortlock is determined to keep pushing for a party that can win over women like her and the young people it's lost.CHARLOTTE MORTLOCK: That is the joy of the Liberal Party is that you all sit together and break bread and have good conversations. As a society, I think we all need to do that and make that really proactive decision and deliberate decision to do that. The Liberal Party is reckoning with its own future, trying to reconcile exactly how it can become more relevant to key demographics of voters.More ABC News video
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