National

Speak to multicultural Australia, elder tells Liberals

By Zac de Silva

Jul 3, 2026

Pauline Hanson and Angus Taylor (file images) — Angus Taylor is urged to embrace diverse communities to curb One Nation's drain on the Liberal vote. -AAP Image

A party stalwart is warning Liberal MPs they need to do more to reach out to multicultural Australians to help arrest its spiralling popularity.

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Australia was unique and presented communication challenges for politicians, former long-serving multicultural affairs minister Philip Ruddock said.Â

"But it's also a community that you need to be able to effectively communicate with," Mr Ruddock told AAP.

His comments follow a difficult sitting fortnight for the coalition in which its standing in the polls has continued to tank and leader Angus Taylor has struggled to articulate his position on multiculturalism.

"If you look at Sydney and Melbourne in particular, members of parliament in my view have a very significant role in reaching out to communities that are diverse," he said.

"Some do it well and others I think need to focus on doing more."

Mr Ruddock served as minister for multicultural affairs between 1998 and 2007 under former Liberal prime minister John Howard.

Mr Taylor is planning a campaign-style blitz across every state and territory over parliament's five-week winter break and will visit small businesses and hold community forums in key electorates.

As he continues to plumb new depths of unpopularity, the opposition leader is hoping to build awareness of his policies among the broader public in a bid to make inroads against Labor and One Nation.

But his message had to reach beyond policy to his values, YouGov pollster Paul Smith told AAP.

"(They) have not differentiated what they stand for, particularly against One Nation," Mr Smith said.

YouGov's polling puts the coalition's first-preference vote at a record low of 17 per cent, predicting the party would win just half a dozen seats in federal parliament if an election were held now.

While the opposition had challenges building support in multicultural communities, it was also struggling across the board, Mr Smith said.

"They are seen as being the same as One Nation and this is killing them with younger Australians, diverse communities... and anyone who supports the Socceroos," he said..

"If the Socceroos represent modern Australia, the Liberal Party is nowhere near in touch with that type of fan, and they need to be."