A message from the outgoing Policy Chair

Dear WA Liberal Party Member,

It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as the Chairman of our Policy Committee over the past 10 years.

I was first elected by State Council as an ordinary member of the Policy Committee in 2013.

One of my earliest observations was the great divide between competing expectations from the organisational and parliamentary wings of our party.

The consensus view within the organisational wing was and still is that the policies the parliamentary wing puts front and centre of its election campaigns should be based on Liberal values as outlined in our ‘We Believe’ statement.

This view manifests itself in the form of widespread expectations that the lay party should have much greater input into the policy development process.

In stark contrast, the parliamentary wing has to take a more pragmatic approach.

There is always a lingering concern that what the organisational wing considers to be a fabulous policy idea may not always win us an election.

Both points of view are understandable in their own rights.

After all, it is the rank-and-file members of our party who ultimately participate in preselections, vote for candidates to stand for parliament and spend hours sign waving.

Our volunteers go out door knocking with candidates and buy raffle tickets at fundraisers.

They bid on auction items, participate in quiz nights, stand at the polling booth for up to 12 hours handing out how-to-vote-cards and often stay back for scrutineering.

It is natural that our thousands of volunteers get a say in policy matters.

At the same time, we shouldn’t assume that our State MLAs and MLCs, nor our Federal MPs and Senators are short of fresh policy ideas.

Our elected WA Liberal representatives are switched-on individuals with dedicated full-time advisers that have industry experience.

It is natural that our elected representatives and their staff would feel they should be the ultimate judge of what policy and campaign slogans should define an election campaign.

Imagine if a policy idea didn't resonate, it's not the rank-and-file that would face the backlash.

It is the elected representatives, generally the Party Leader that has to face up to media scrutiny.

Remember that politics can be awfully fluid.

A policy idea that is popular today could be unpopular tomorrow.

A policy idea that is unpopular today could be popular tomorrow.

That is the nature of the news cycle.

Elected representatives, especially the Leader at both State and Federal levels and their advisers are the ones best placed to keep track of the political temperature and relative norms of the day.

They are best placed to determine which policies they are prepared to take to an election cycle and work out a strategy to deal with the consequences.

While we can empathise with each wing’s approach to policy development, we must respect that neither wing can be expected to get everything right at all times.

I became intimately aware of this great divide during my initial two years as an ordinary member of the Policy Committee between 2013 and 2014.

When I was first privileged to be elected Chairman of our Policy Committee by State Council on 10th October 2015, I knew that my first task was to manage these seemingly competing expectations.

I didn’t want the Policy Committee to come across to the State or Federal Parliamentary teams as though we were trying to tell them that us volunteers could do their jobs better than them and their full-time advisers.

At the same time, I didn’t want the Policy Committee to give members of the rank-and-file unrealistic hopes that every single policy motion passed at State Council or State Conference would end up being adopted as an election policy by the parliamentary wing.

The way that my team and I decided we would manage this divide is by acting as an advisory body to the parliamentary wing while keeping the flow of fresh ideas pumping through at the lay party level. 

In other words, we would be there to offer advice to the parliamentary wing as needed without coming across as pushy.

As for the organisational wing, my team and I decided we would always ensure that our rank-and-file members felt everyone had a viable platform to become contributors to the process.

It was this vision that led to the founding of our party’s only printed publication The Contributor policy journal.

This publication has so far released six editions.

These editions have featured articles from our rank-and-file base, industry experts across various portfolios and Members of Parliament including an article from the 28^th Prime Minister of Australia the Hon Tony Abbott AC.

Its enduring legacy will continue to be accessed online at www.contributor.org.au for years to come.

One of its highlights will be the publication of an article in 2017 from Alice Springs Councillor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price at a time when she was relatively less well-known within the political scene nationally.

We identified talent and good ideas where we could.

Who would've thought that one of our contributors in our journal would one day end up leading the charge on defeating the Voice Referendum in 2023 in her capacity as a Northern Territory Senator.

Over the past decade, the Policy Committee has led the charge in organising countless round tables and panel discussions on a range of State and Federal policy issues that catered for every ministerial portfolio imaginable.

Our events have consistently attracted between 250 and 500 attendees at any given time.

We conducted regular party wide surveys through the party’s newsletter Libmail to welcome feedback from our membership on which policies the base felt strongly about.

We analysed the results and passed the feedback on to the parliamentary wing for consideration.

I noticed in the early days that policy motions at State Conference were often quite wordy and not always neatly categorised.

Under my lead, the Policy Committee took the initiative to create four categories of policy motions for the State Conference booklet: Administrative, Rural, Federal and State.

During debate sessions, we ensured that the Standing Orders were adhered to in a manner that was professional and timely. 

The fact that at recent State Conferences, we have managed to get through the full list of policy motions without a massive leftover being passed on to State Council is testament to the new approach we put in place.

The fallout from the pandemic was not ideal. It left its scars in ways that continue to prove challenging for us.

There was widespread consensus after the 2021 election that the policy process needed a major overhaul.

The Policy Committee took the initiative to establish eight portfolio-centric Policy Subcommittees to be led by State Council delegates.

This competitive recruitment process attracted over 270 applicants.

This process witnessed a diverse range of ideas emerging.

Recommendations were submitted to the party leadership for consideration at various intervals.

I firmly believe that the Policy Committee under my lead has made significant improvements to the culture of free and frank debates within our party.

I felt that this momentum needed to continue on.

I figured that if State Council felt strongly about change, it would exercise its democratic right to achieve it.  

Last weekend, 11th October 2025, it did exactly that.

I respect this decision.

When we say we believe in democracy, we must honour the outcome.

I was never good enough to play cricket for Australia, but one thing I was good at is gracefully walking when the umpy’s finger went up.

Serving as your Policy Chair would have even been a privilege for one term.

You elected me for ten.

This has been an innings the lessons and memories of which will be cherished for years to come.

During this time, I have enjoyed many strong relationships with every branch, every division and every Member of Parliament I had the opportunity to work with. 

I have appreciated every piece of advice many of you were kind enough to offer, including that which I occasionally disagreed with.

I have always respected the amount of time, effort and resources that both our volunteers and politicians put into this party.

It is ultimately the party and its interests that come first.

It is this party that we all love and care for and wish to see re-elected at the next ballot.

Over this decade, I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse composition of team members each year on the Policy Committee.

I wish to thank every single one of them for their many contributions.

One colleague I particularly wish to thank is Jeremy Buxton for his continued advice, support and wisdom in his capacity as our Deputy Policy Chair for virtually all of my tenure, until earlier this year.

I take this opportunity to congratulate our incoming Policy Chair Tabitha Corser and wish her all the very best in carrying this legacy forward.

We will be working closely together to ensure that the handover process is seamless.

There will be many lessons to be learnt from this decade-long stint at the crease.

I thank you for your continued support.

It is time now for the long walk back to the pavilion.

I will no doubt be around and will continue to make contributions to the WA Liberal Party in other capacities.

Feel free to reach out via contact@sherrysufi.com whenever you need.

Regards,

Dr Sherry Sufi.

Policy Committee Chair (2015-2025).