Advance director says ‘bed-wetting anonymous Liberals’ trying to blame others after bitter election defeat

While one Liberal MP said Advance made ‘honestly no difference at all’ to the election result, a former MP said the party would ultimately realise the group was not a sustainable campaign affiliate. Photograph: Izhar Khan/Getty Images

Several senior Liberal sources have questioned the impact of Advance Australia, with some arguing the rightwing advocacy group made “no difference at all” to the election result and others warning it “undermined” the party and cost it votes.

The criticism has sparked a bitter blame game, with Advance’s executive director, Matthew Sheahan, accusing “bed-wetting anonymous Liberals” of “looking to blame everyone but themselves”, and adding that Advance “does not exist to get hopeless Liberals elected”.