“The (Liberal) party has become a party of fear and reaction.”

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser died Friday morning after a short battle with an illness. He is known for toppling the Whitlam government and serving as prime minister between 1975 and 1983.

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Later in life, Mr. Fraser became an outspoken critic of the conservative Liberal party, which he once led for eight years.

In a 2005 speech at the University of Melbourne, Mr. Fraser spoke openly about resigning from the Liberal party because of the anti-terrorism and asylum seeker policies of the Howard government.

Julian Smith / AAP

These events have made me think seriously about my own position within the Liberal Party. I remember the party I joined, the party of Menzies, of liberal and progressive ideas, a forward-looking party, willing to make experiments. As Menzies himself put it, a party that believes fervently in the Rule of Law, in higher education accessible to all able students, in a government accepting national obligations and a vision for the future, a party that slowly abolished the White Australia Policy and broadened Australia to a more open, multicultural society. It was a party of hope and of vision.

The departures from the principles underlining that Liberal Party are substantial and serious. The party has become a party of fear and reaction. It is conservative and not liberal. It has not led in positive directions, it has allowed and, some would say, promoted race and religion to be part of today's agenda. I find it unrecognizable as liberal.

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