Sussan Ley pledges to lead Liberal Party that ‘reflects modern Australia’

Sussan Ley has pledged to lead a Liberal Party that “reflects modern Australia”.

The NSW MP on Tuesday made history as the first woman to lead the Liberals after beating Angus Taylor in a nailbiting vote to succeed Peter Dutton.

The party has been reeling in the wake of Labor’s landslide federal election win 10 days ago with the red wave sweeping up Mr Dutton’s seat and leaving the Liberals – and the opposition – leaderless.

Ms Ley said she was “positive about what lies ahead”, but acknowledged her party “faced a significant defeat” on May 3 and that “the scale and the size of that defeat is not lost on any of us and right now, we have to respect the result and reflect with humility”.

“We have to have a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, that reflects modern Australia, and that represents modern Australia,” Ms Ley told reporters at Parliament House.

“And we have to meet the people where they are and that’s what I am committed to doing and what I am determined to do.

“I want to do things differently, and we have to have a fresh approach.

“I want to harness the talents of every single person in our party room going forward to develop the clear, articulate policy agenda that does meet Australians where they are.”

She also took a moment to compliment her challenger, saying Mr Taylor “would have been a fine leader of the Liberal Party at this time”.

“Angus and I have worked collegiately together over many years – in government and in opposition,” Ms Ley said, hailing him as “intelligent” and “talented”.

“And he will have an integral role in our party with the next steps going forward.”

Meanwhile, her newly elected deputy Ted O’Brien touted “Liberal values are Australian values”.

The Queensland MP championed the Coalition’s controversial nuclear policy as climate change and energy spokesman.

In the wake of the election, it has been unclear whether the opposition would keep the policy.

“We believe in the importance of freedom,” Mr O’Brien said.

“We believe in the importance of equality. We believe in the importance of a fair go. A belief that with rights comes commensurate responsibilities.

“With effort comes reward. We believe in the individual. We believe in family. We believe in community. We believe in enterprise. And we believe in entrepreneurship.

“And these values which unite the Liberal Party are the very values that have the capacity to unite the nation.”

Palestine problem

Ms Ley’s past support for Palestine has raised some eyebrows within the Liberal Party.

In 2008, she was the only MP to raise Palestinian statehood when the House of Representatives marked Israel’s 60th anniversary.

She also backed Palestinian statehood following a visit to the West Bank in 2011, which was paid for by the Palestinian Authority.

But her views appeared to shift in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, in which militants killed some 1200 and took hundreds more hostage.

Ms Ley said a trip to Israel with Jewish MP Julian Leeser had informed her position.

“I wish we had a leadership of the Palestinian people not letting them down quite so badly,” she said.

“Right now what we’re seeing is not a party interested peace with Israel, not a party interested in secure Israel behind secure borders, and not a party interested in a just and lasting peace.”

Israel’s military response in Gaza has all-but decapitated Hamas’ upper echelon and neutralised the Palestinian terror group’s ability to mount future attacks.

Though, it has come at an enormous civilian death toll, with Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reporting more than 52,000 deaths.

It is unclear how many of those were civilians, but independent monitors and aid groups have confirmed civilian deaths number in the tens of thousands.

Ms Ley also accused Anthony Albanese of “letting down Jewish Australians”.

“One of the biggest threats to social cohesion and country is the Prime Minister’s approach to Jewish Australians,” Ms Ley said.

“Everything that happens overseas … has domestic implications.

“We have a foreign minister, Penny Wong, let down Australia in the UN when and we have a prime minister who is intent on letting down Jewish Australians on the streets of our cities.

“One thing I have heard consistently over the last two years has been the sense of isolation, fear and real concern for our wonderful Jewish Australians.

“I want to make clear going forward we will work very hard to hold this prime minister and government to account because it is not acceptable to see what we have seen on the streets of our cities, in the universities and hear the stories I have heard from our Australian community, in many cases physically when it is young women, it makes my heart break.”

Historic win

Liberal MPs were tight-lipped as they shuffled into Parliament House on Tuesday morning.

A few backbenchers murmured names while others said they were on the fence, appearing as though it was anyone’s race.

But when the ballots were cast, Ms Ley came out ahead with 29 to Mr Taylor’s 25.

Ms Ley dodged reporter questions as she emerged leader from the Liberal partyroom.

But others were more chatty, with Linda Reynolds saying she was “delighted with the result”.

“Australia spoke very clearly to the Liberal Party,” the West Australian senator said.

“We’ve listened and we’ve acted. And we’re united. Thank you.”

Andrew Wallace admitted that there was a “challenge ahead of us” but the party needed to unite.

“One thing the Australian people will not cop is a disunified opposition,” the Queensland MP said.

“And we need to now unite and rebuild. We can’t rebuild if we’re not united.

“And I think everybody in that room understands that, and that is exactly what we will do.”

Mr Wallace praised both Mr Ley and Mr O’Brien, stressing the new Liberal leader’s experience.

“Sussan is a woman with 24 years’ experience in this place and I think nothing beats experience in this place,” he said.

“You know where all the bodies are buried – you know the tactics – which is very important in this place, and Sussan … she’s been here for 24 years.

“I think that speaks volumes.”

A moderate, Ms Ley has represented the rural NSW seat of Farrer since 2001 and served as a cabinet minister in the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison Coalition governments.

She served as deputy Liberal leader to Mr Dutton before the election.

Ms Ley holds a bachelor of economics from La Trobe University, a masters in tax from UNSW and masters in accounting from Charles Sturt University, all of which she earnt as a mother and mature-aged student.

‘Big hug’

Tuesday’s result not only dashed Mr Taylor’s chances of leading the party any time soon, but also dealt a blow to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s leadership ambitions.

The Northern Territory senator backed Mr Taylor and announced her bid to be his deputy after her shock defection to Liberal partyroom last week.

Senator Price withdrew her candidacy after Mr Taylor lost.

But switching from the Nationals has sparked unease within the Liberal Party, with some unhappy at the prospect her getting promoted over others after just joining.

Senator Price has commented on the result, saying she was “disappointed” but would “respect” it.

“While I am disappointed Angus Taylor was not elected leader, I respect the decision made by my colleagues,” she said in a statement.

“I recognise I am new to the party and am grateful that our party is one that afforded me the opportunity to consider putting myself forward for the position of deputy leader.”

She added that while the vote was not the outcome she wanted, it “in no way lessens my commitment to the Liberal Party or the broader Coalition”.

Where Senator Price would fall in Ms Ley’s shadow ministry remained unclear in contrast to her frontbench status in the Nationals.

But in her post-vote press conference, the new leader said her shadow cabinet would include both those who support her leadership bid and those who did not.

“I welcomed Jacinta into the party room this morning with a big hug, and many of my colleagues did,” Ms Ley said.

“Jacinta is a clear and talented communicator. I want to make it clear … how much we welcome Jacinta into this party room.

“I will have more to say about the shaping of my shadow cabinet going forward, but I will say this – my shadow cabinet will include people who did support me in this room this morning, and people who did not.”

Senator Price’s defection also fuelled post-election tensions in the Coalition more broadly.

The Nationals outperformed the Liberals at the election, holding all of their existing lower house seats.

Ms Ley will also need to contend with the inter-party strain to present a unified opposition.

‘Battle of the duds’

Earlier, Jim Chalmers called the Liberal leadership contest a “battle of the duds”, saying the party would be no better off whoever emerged from the vote victorious.

The Treasurer said he had not “given it a lot of thought”, but it was “unusual that two of the three people most responsible for the debacle which was the Coalition over the last three years have put their hands up for leader”.

“I think it’s strange that instead of asking their colleagues for forgiveness, they’re asking their colleagues for votes,” Mr Chalmers told Nine’s Today.

Both Mr Taylor and Ms Ley — who put their hands up first — have faced internal party criticism, with some unhappy with Mr Taylor’s performance as shadow treasurer and the new leader accused of undermining the man she was gunning to replace.

Tim Wilson emerged late last week as a surprise contender but ruled it out on Monday night after the Nationals re-elected David Littleproud party leader.

A same-sex marriage advocate and a moderate, Mr Wilson won the Melbourne seat of Goldstein in this year’s federal election from independent Zoe Daniel after she unseated him in 2022.

But Mr Chalmers had a scathing assessment of him also.

“I don’t think that would be an improvement,” he said.

“I think whoever wins this battle of the duds today, the Liberal Party will still be the party of lower wages, higher income taxes and nuclear reactors, and that will show that whoever wins this ballot today, they haven’t learned the lesson of the last three years.”