Why this ex-Liberal thinks she can unite One Nation and Greens voters

Charlotte Mortlock left the Liberal Party because she believes it won't change. (Four Corners) Former Liberal Party member Charlotte Mortlock has kickstarted a political movement called Something Better. She's hoping to attract voters across the political spectrum. Mortlock is hoping the movement will lead to the establishment of Australia's next major political party. Link copiedShareShare articleThe idea is being praised by some and ridiculed by others, but Charlotte Mortlock is convinced a new political party is just what Australia needs right now. "If you can't have a crack in Australia, where can you have a crack?" the former political staffer tells triple j hack. "I am not naive, I am ambitious. Australia can do hard things." Promising to "reinvent the wheel" and support "Australians who are feeling politically abandoned", Mortlock says her Something Better campaign is focused on capitalising on the common interests of Australians, rather than their differences. "So many Australians aren't happy with the establishment, and they think that there are a lot of systemic flaws in our society," she says. "The problem that we have with the major parties is they have refused to pick up on that sentiment." Mortlock says she hopes the grassroots campaign will lead to the establishment of Australia's "next major political party". "We are in a unique political landscape at the moment that is ripe for disruption," she says. A few months ago, Mortlock herself might have aligned with those laughing off her dream. A strong advocate for the Liberal Party for years, the former journalist was well-known as the founder of Hilma's Network, a national movement encouraging more women to join and shape the Liberal Party. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor (centre) at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. (ABC News: Callum Flinn) But in February Mortlock quit the Liberal Party and the group she set up, in protest at the direction the party was heading. She says the decision felt inevitable after the party toppled its first female leader, Sussan Ley. "It was time to accept that they weren't going to change," she tells hack. While acknowledging that she thinks Ley "made mistakes" as party leader, Mortlock maintains the former member for Farrer was not given a fair chance. "The second that she got up, they just circled her like sharks." "They", according to Mortlock, are Liberal MPs with "ambitions for themselves and for their own factions", who she says "undermined and rattled" the former opposition leader. The Liberal Party's decision to oust Sussan Ley as leader was one of the reasons Charlotte Mortlock decided to leave the party. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore) Mortlock says the move against Ley was a mistake, pointing to research showing the number of women voting for the Liberal Party has been dropping since 2004. "There is no resentment from me … I just don't have hope for the Liberal Party, and I don't think it can evolve." Mortlock says the idea for Something Better came after noticing a rise in "anti-establishment" rhetoric in Australia, which has led many voters to turn away from the major parties in favour of independents and One Nation. "[People] are working really hard and they aren't getting ahead," she says. "They just genuinely want change and they don't think the major parties are going to be able to deliver it. "I think people want a political party that is radical, but not necessarily in ideology. They want it to be radical in ambition and in tenacity." Charlotte Mortlock was inspired by people turning away from major parties and towards independents and Pauline Hanson's One Nation. (ABC News: Che Chorley) Asked where the party she's hoping to kickstart will sit on the political spectrum, Mortlock says it will be more issues-based than ideologically bound. "We've got to get away from this left versus right, conservative versus progressive discussion," she tells triple j hack. "There are so many policies that I think could be unifying for everyone from the Greens to One Nation. "Is it left or right, or is it just common sense?" According to Mortlock, Something Better will focus on long-term goals and a vision for Australia, rather than election promises. She is convinced her policies will have broad appeal, citing high-speed rail as an issue that galvanises support across the country. But she is quick to point out that she will not be running her own agenda. "This is a movement that I'm starting, but over my dead body am I having the arrogance to say what I think a policy should be," she says. "We will be hosting events that have panellists that pitch different ideas and hopefully really creative, bold policies. With hundreds signing up to the campaign within 24 hours of launching, Mortlock says it is clear the idea is worth pursuing. Eventually she is hoping the movement will launch an official political party, which can only be registered once at least 1,500 members a

Why this ex-Liberal thinks she can unite One Nation and Greens voters

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