The liberal Liberal cabinet of a liberal Liberal Prime Minister

Following the leadership change in the Liberal Party, new PM Malcolm Turnbull has also changed the look of cabinet.

Sometimes, it can be too easy to understate the importance of a leader in shaping the direction a party moves in when trying to compensate for the fact that too much attention is paid to the leader in other matters by the media (and, by extension, the public). Yet here we see how important the leader is in pushing their party in one direction or another. Abbott, a true conservative with a conservative cabinet, has been replaced by Turnbull, a true liberal with a liberal cabinet.

In the media, this has generally been reported using the misnomer of Turnbull's cabinet having 'moderates', a false political terms that equates liberalism with a middle ground.

Those who have entered the cabinet are, for the most part, renowned more for their economic liberalism than anything else. These types tend to stay quieter on which way they lean socially, though that says plenty about them in and of itself. Scott Morrison is one of the few promoted who is openly conservative, but he's simply moving up the ranks within cabinet rather than coming in from the outer ministry or the backbenches.

Compare also those entering (such as Kelly O'Dwyer, Michaelia Cash and Josh Frydenberg) to those exiting (such as Tony Abbott, Kevin Andrews and Eric Abetz). The broad theme is clear: liberalism is good, conservatism is bad. The unique way the Liberal Party was brought about (as a merger of anti-socialist causes) has meant there has always been a delicate balancing act going on between the liberals and the conservatives. Malcolm Turnbull has made his intentions clear with his cabinet, although the given the party room is fairly equally split between the two he is unlikely to go for the jugular on issues conservatives are likely to revolt over (mostly being issues of society). Instead, he will probably focus on further liberalising the economy. 

Case in point: lowering weekend penalty rates. This issue was first brought up by the Productivity Commission in August, but such an issue seemed to be the kind of thing Abbott's government would rather leave alone, or at least to those who cared more about it (which essentially consisted of economic liberals). Now, with Turnbull in charge, penalty rates are now at the forefront of the agenda. Not only has the Prime Minister said that it would be brought before cabinet, but two of the aforementioned new ministers (Cash and Frydenberg) have spoken out in favour of it. 

From now until the election, we should expect this kind of policy focus. The economy is relatively safe ground, in that as long as it is doing well enough, the government can reap the electoral benefits. Social policy is far more likely to be contested, particularly amongst Liberal voters, and is therefore best avoided until the next term. Whether the people buy the message of economic reform, though, is another matter.