Politics with Michelle Grattan: Josh Frydenberg plans to keep speaking out

Josh Frydenberg has told The Conversation he will keep speaking out on the need for stronger economic reform, including raising the goods and service tax (GST) – despite his proposal being shot down by Liberal leader Angus Taylor.

Frydenberg said Taylor’s immediate rejection of lifting the GST would not put him off bringing it up again: “I’m not troubled by that, and it’s not like it’s unexpected either.” Frydenberg, who is the party’s former deputy leader and federal treasurer, was speaking to The Conversation’s politics podcast to mark Tuesday’s release of his new memoir, A Grateful Son.

Frydenberg is open about the fact he’s still deciding whether he will make a political comeback.

In both his book and in this podcast, Frydenberg offers a sweeping blueprint for the Liberal Party’s revival in the face of crumbling voter support.

But Frydenberg insisted his announcement about whether he’ll try to recapture his former seat of Kooyong, lost to teal independent Monique Ryan in 2022, will come next year. [It] is ultimately a family decision, because life in the political world is [a] very different one to the private sector.

It’s all consuming, it’s a long haul.

But it’s also got enormous rewards in terms of what you can achieve. […] The party will make its decision about pre-selection at some point next year.

Again, the election is not due [until] early 2028.

And for me, I will make my decision at the appropriate time, which will be in the new year.

Yet this book could also prove be counterproductive, in pushing a program too radical for today’s political times that will frighten many in the parliamentary Liberal party.

Some Liberals are frustrated and angry at the distraction the book will cause, given the heightened speculation about Frydenberg’s future will intensify over the months, potentially undermining Taylor.

Coincidentally, the timing of its release comes just as the government is under pressure over measures hitting small business, from card surcharges to trusts.

The government has delightedly seized on it.

Right now, Frydenberg is the man standing on the 10-metre diving board: torn between taking the leap to rejoin politics, keeping alive his prime ministerial dream – or stepping back for good, avoiding the high risk and family sacrifice involved in a comeback.