Sussan Ley unveils shadow cabinet
Sabra Lane: They're reunited. After a week's split, the Liberal and National parties are back as a coalition. Yesterday, the Liberal leader Sussan Ley revealed a refreshed shadow cabinet. The messy separation played out while Ms Ley's mother died. The new Liberal leader announced the new-look opposition frontbench alongside Nationals leader David Littleproud. She spoke with me earlier. Sussan Ley, thanks for joining AM, but condolences on the loss of your mother.
Sussan Ley: Thank you so much, Sabra. It's good to speak with you. It's been a tough couple of weeks personally, but also I've reflected often on the incredible privilege of leading the opposition, leading the Liberal Party. And I'm so keen to get out there now that we've reformed the coalition to work hard for the Australian people and every single community in every single corner of this country.
Sabra Lane: Just on that, you thanked David Littleproud yesterday for being respectful and productive, but some Australians would be very puzzled by that because many think the way that the Nationals behaved in the past fortnight was anything but respectful, especially as you were dealing with your mother's illness and death.
Sussan Ley: There's a lot of to-ing and fro-ing. There's a lot of commentary. There's even commentary about the commentary with this, but David and I are firmly focused on the future. We walked into that party room yesterday and we walked out both chatting to each other about the communities we seek to represent and in particular, the flooding in Northern New South Wales and how quickly we wanted to work together to be on the ground to support those communities. So while the nature of coalition agreements can be vigorous debate, and as I said, back and forth, I'm delighted that as a coalition, we will be a team that takes the fight up on behalf of the Australian people. Every government sabre needs the strongest possible opposition. We both really believe that we work better when we work together.
Sabra Lane: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who defected from the Nationals to join the Liberal Party for a tilt at a leadership position that fizzled, says of the new shadow cabinet, I'll be honest to say that there are probably some appointments that have not been predicated on experience or merit. This is the team we have to work with. How confident are you that the Senator is going to be a team player?
Sussan Ley: I'm very excited about the team. Can I say that, Sabra?
Sabra Lane: But on her words?
Sussan Ley: Well, she is part of that team. She's an incredible Australian in terms of her ability to connect. But I'm very proud of my team. I'm very proud of everything they offer. And it's not just the team in the shadow ministry. And that's an important message to get across. As I said yesterday, I spoke to every one of the 54 members of my party room, because everyone is involved. And I want to harness the talents of every single individual as we go out and do what we've been elected to do, which is work hard for the Australian people.
Sabra Lane: On the nub of the question, though, sorry, those words don't sound like she's fully on board.
Sussan Ley: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is taking on a crucial role in defence as the shadow minister for defence industry and defence personnel. And I know working with Angus Taylor as our shadow minister for defence, this is going to be a terrifically important combination. We have Phil Thompson also in that team, and we've got work to do to present the case that we need to think carefully and work hard.
Sabra Lane: Much of the criticism about the coalition's performance at the election was that many policies were lacking, that hadn't been worked through or released too late. Some were out of touch with modern Australia. How is this team going to rectify that?
Sussan Ley: Modernising the Liberal Party is not about moving it to the left or to the right. It is about meeting people. Because it's true, Sara, we suffered a resounding defeat and we didn't meet the expectations of Australians. And we have to go out into those communities and we have to listen closely and we have to change. This is a new team with a fresh approach that will do things differently. We're not focused on the internals. We're not focused on what happens inside the building in Canberra, important though that is from time to time. We're very much focused on the work that we need to do.
Sabra Lane: On net zero, Australia signed up to an international agreement pledging to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The coalition has said it will review that commitment to the policy. If it's ditched, won't Australians just interpret that as the coalition being an organisation of climate change deniers?
Sussan Ley: Australia must play its role in reducing global emissions. There is an important role for us to play. But it is always a balance between power prices, what Australian households are paying and how they're struggling to afford to pay their power bills as we go into winter. And we must have...
Sabra Lane: The nub of that question, sorry, was again, people might view the coalition as just being an organisation of climate change deniers.
Sussan Ley: Well, I completely reject that. Australians, no, and that includes our team. We must reduce emissions, but we must have a stable, reliable energy grid. And that's the perspective that I will bring to the policy development in this space.
Sabra Lane: How will your leadership style be different, say, from Peter Dutton's?
Sussan Ley: Without reflecting on any previous leader, Sabra, I know that I bring two things to the team straight away, and that is my very strong work ethic and also my consultation. It's not about lecturing from the top. It shouldn't be in opposition. It's about listening. As we develop policy going forward, we will see them through the timeless prism of the values that we have as Liberals. And I know that, again, with the team that I have around me, we can do this job really well. Millions of Australians voted for us at the last election. Millions didn't. But right now, we're here for every single one to prove to them that we are up for the task and to earn their faith and trust in us.
Sabra Lane: Sussan Ley, thanks for talking to AM this morning.
Sussan Ley: It's a pleasure, Sabra.
Sabra Lane: And Sussan Ley is the new Federal Liberal Party leader.
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