On Wednesday the Dutch will go to the polls to elect a new national government. Like their cheeses, the Dutch have a variety of parties to choose from. They even have the choice between two liberal ones. The centre-right Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) and the centre-left Politieke Partij Democraten 66 (D66). But this is no two-horse race.

We Australians can learn something from our Dutch cousins. Apart from improving our availability and variety of cheeses (cheddar anyone?) we should also have more mainstream parties to choose from. The latest Newspoll survey shows that the Greens have increased their electoral support. Clearly the electorate, (that is we the people) want more than what is on offer. While the Democrats, according to their website, are currently ‘rebuilding’ (I assume it’s the party not their website), our current two-party set-up is akin to a choice between sliced cheddar or cheddar blocks. But, given the choice we might want, and even like Gouda, Leerdammer or even Boerenkaas.

The news that Malcolm Fraser has quit the Liberal Party evoked many questions. But the most important one came last week from Peter Hartcher in his opinion piece, “If he were to enter Federal Parliament now, which party would Fraser join?”

There is not one, yet. It has to be created. And it is the right time to form one, along the lines of the Democraten 66 in the Netherlands and the Liberal Democrats in the UK. If the true liberals of the Liberal Party believe that their party has become too conservative and has neglected its liberal roots, they can either try and win back the ideology or create a new truly liberal party.

As Hartcher notes:

“The Liberal Party has always been an uneasy alliance of two distinct philosophies, liberalism and conservatism. These are such different world views that in some countries they are represented by different political parties.”

Just like the conservative VVD and liberal D66 in the Netherlands.

But as we have seen with the recent British elections, liberalism and conservatism can be bedfellows, (think the Dave and Nick Show). Though that coalition was out borne out necessity and ‘electoral arithmetic’.

A proper third party, comprising of true liberals, advocating true liberal social and economic polices will be a welcome addition to the Australian electoral palate. Such a party is what Australia needs. Such a party will advance Australia. Such a party would be worthy of Fraser’s membership. But whether such a party would welcome him, is a totally different matter.