Latest news with #Ley
The Age
a day ago
- Politics
- The Age
Coalition of the unwilling: Climate wars will soon eclipse reunification relief
That gets close, but, in truth, Ley didn't even go that far. All she agreed to was that the Coalition would support an end to the moratorium on the building of nuclear power plants. She emphatically did not agree to finance and build seven nuclear power plants. Not even one. On the other three areas that Peter Dutton's Coalition had taken to the election and that Littleproud insisted remain, Ley has agreed but so hedged them with conditions that they are almost meaningless. Loading And what of Littleproud's other early demand – that Nationals' members of a Coalition shadow cabinet should not be bound by the principle of solidarity? He quickly abandoned that when it was roundly rejected. He achieved nothing he couldn't have accomplished with a quiet conversation behind closed doors, as is customary between the Libs and Nats. All he's managed to do is make himself a laughingstock with a limited leadership lifespan. And diminish the entire Coalition in the process. So far, the Liberals have done two things right since the election. First, they elected a woman as leader. Second, that woman handled the Nat spat with calm and steely grace. But the really hard part lies ahead, and the Coalition ruction was the opening act. 'It wasn't a fight about four policies,' says a Liberal. 'It was really about us being totally fine with them running all over us in three or six months' time when we reach a policy on climate change.' The climate wars are over. And the Coalition lost. But it will have great difficulty in accepting this fact. The Liberals have undertaken to review their policy; it will be traumatic. Ley will want to bring the party to a recognition that climate change is not only real but a reality that the party must embrace in its policies: 'You won't see any climate denial from Sussan,' says a Liberal from her camp. 'It's about respectful engagement, so voters understand that we are believers.' The pollster Jim Reed of Resolve Strategic says that this is an irreducible minimum for any party that hopes to win power. 'In the early to mid-2000s we regularly asked a question in our polling – do you believe in climate change? Very quickly, over two or three years, it became redundant,' he tells me. 'Speaking to tradies in focus groups, a no-nonsense group who, in the past, would have had some of the doubters in it, today, they say 'yes, and we can see it happening, we see the effects.' The ship has sailed.' Yet climate disbelief runs deep in the surviving members of the Coalition. In the Nats, certainly. Littleproud says he supports the pre-existing Coalition commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan, Michael McCormack, Colin Boyce and Llew O'Brien, at a minimum, will fight to defeat it. Loading But climate scepticism also runs strongly through the ranks of the Libs, as Andrew Hastie reminded us this week: 'I think the question of net zero, that's a straitjacket that I'm already getting out of,' the new shadow minister for Home Affairs told the ABC. 'The real question is should Australian families and businesses be paying more for their electricity?' Other Liberals, even climate sceptics, think it's time for the party to bow before the electoral reality. 'Some of the colleagues still haven't absorbed the magnitude of our loss,' says one who, like Hastie, is a frontbencher from the party's conservative side. 'When they walk into the House, and they're confronted with the wall of Labor MPs, it will be a reality check for them. We'll see the final numbers and see what we have to do if we want to get back into government – it'll be of the order of 30 seats or around a 7 per cent swing.' A daunting prospect and extraordinarily difficult to accomplish in a single term. 'I can't think of a single seat in the country that we'll be able to win without a commitment to net zero.' Liberal Zoe McKenzie points to a statistic that should rivet the party's attention. Of the 151 seats in the House, 88 are metropolitan. Of those, the Coalition occupies just eight. This is, in effect, the banishment of the Liberal Party from the cities of Australia. Even if the Coalition can hold those eight and win all the other 63 city seats in the parliament, it would hold a total of only 71. In other words, it's mathematically impossible for it to win a majority, which is 76, without returning to metropolitan Australia. And belief in climate change is the price of admission to city seats. McKenzie, factionally non-aligned and freshly elected to a second term in the seat of Flinders covering Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, hopes that the party retains its net zero commitment. As it debates the policy, she wants the party to 'keep the voices of the ghosts alive,' meaning all the moderate Liberals who lost their seats in recent elections. The former MPs who'd be arguing in favour of net zero and climate-friendly policy. Loading Overarching all of this is the larger question of the party's political philosophy. Fundamentally, the Liberals have to decide whether they are the party of Robert Menzies or Rupert Murdoch. Menzies was a great pragmatist, principled but not ideological, who adapted to his times. He was preoccupied with the concerns and interests of the suburban middle class, not the capitalist class but the ordinary men and women of aspiration. Murdoch is a right-wing populist interested in pressing always further rightward to build constituencies favourable to his own business interests. The Liberals have to choose. Once they decide whether to continue following the Murdoch pied piper to electoral irrelevance or to rediscover the Menzian attachment to middle Australia, all their other choices will become clearer. And the Nationals? They are now reduced to four senators. The same number as One Nation. And, like One Nation, the Nationals won a touch over 6 per cent of the national primary vote for the House. 'We, as Liberals, would never allow One Nation to determine our policies,' points out a Lib. So, his logic runs, why should the party accept the Nationals' terms?
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Coalition of the unwilling: Climate wars will soon eclipse reunification relief
That gets close, but, in truth, Ley didn't even go that far. All she agreed to was that the Coalition would support an end to the moratorium on the building of nuclear power plants. She emphatically did not agree to finance and build seven nuclear power plants. Not even one. On the other three areas that Peter Dutton's Coalition had taken to the election and that Littleproud insisted remain, Ley has agreed but so hedged them with conditions that they are almost meaningless. Loading And what of Littleproud's other early demand – that Nationals' members of a Coalition shadow cabinet should not be bound by the principle of solidarity? He quickly abandoned that when it was roundly rejected. He achieved nothing he couldn't have accomplished with a quiet conversation behind closed doors, as is customary between the Libs and Nats. All he's managed to do is make himself a laughingstock with a limited leadership lifespan. And diminish the entire Coalition in the process. So far, the Liberals have done two things right since the election. First, they elected a woman as leader. Second, that woman handled the Nat spat with calm and steely grace. But the really hard part lies ahead, and the Coalition ruction was the opening act. 'It wasn't a fight about four policies,' says a Liberal. 'It was really about us being totally fine with them running all over us in three or six months' time when we reach a policy on climate change.' The climate wars are over. And the Coalition lost. But it will have great difficulty in accepting this fact. The Liberals have undertaken to review their policy; it will be traumatic. Ley will want to bring the party to a recognition that climate change is not only real but a reality that the party must embrace in its policies: 'You won't see any climate denial from Sussan,' says a Liberal from her camp. 'It's about respectful engagement, so voters understand that we are believers.' The pollster Jim Reed of Resolve Strategic says that this is an irreducible minimum for any party that hopes to win power. 'In the early to mid-2000s we regularly asked a question in our polling – do you believe in climate change? Very quickly, over two or three years, it became redundant,' he tells me. 'Speaking to tradies in focus groups, a no-nonsense group who, in the past, would have had some of the doubters in it, today, they say 'yes, and we can see it happening, we see the effects.' The ship has sailed.' Yet climate disbelief runs deep in the surviving members of the Coalition. In the Nats, certainly. Littleproud says he supports the pre-existing Coalition commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan, Michael McCormack, Colin Boyce and Llew O'Brien, at a minimum, will fight to defeat it. Loading But climate scepticism also runs strongly through the ranks of the Libs, as Andrew Hastie reminded us this week: 'I think the question of net zero, that's a straitjacket that I'm already getting out of,' the new shadow minister for Home Affairs told the ABC. 'The real question is should Australian families and businesses be paying more for their electricity?' Other Liberals, even climate sceptics, think it's time for the party to bow before the electoral reality. 'Some of the colleagues still haven't absorbed the magnitude of our loss,' says one who, like Hastie, is a frontbencher from the party's conservative side. 'When they walk into the House, and they're confronted with the wall of Labor MPs, it will be a reality check for them. We'll see the final numbers and see what we have to do if we want to get back into government – it'll be of the order of 30 seats or around a 7 per cent swing.' A daunting prospect and extraordinarily difficult to accomplish in a single term. 'I can't think of a single seat in the country that we'll be able to win without a commitment to net zero.' Liberal Zoe McKenzie points to a statistic that should rivet the party's attention. Of the 151 seats in the House, 88 are metropolitan. Of those, the Coalition occupies just eight. This is, in effect, the banishment of the Liberal Party from the cities of Australia. Even if the Coalition can hold those eight and win all the other 63 city seats in the parliament, it would hold a total of only 71. In other words, it's mathematically impossible for it to win a majority, which is 76, without returning to metropolitan Australia. And belief in climate change is the price of admission to city seats. McKenzie, factionally non-aligned and freshly elected to a second term in the seat of Flinders covering Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, hopes that the party retains its net zero commitment. As it debates the policy, she wants the party to 'keep the voices of the ghosts alive,' meaning all the moderate Liberals who lost their seats in recent elections. The former MPs who'd be arguing in favour of net zero and climate-friendly policy. Loading Overarching all of this is the larger question of the party's political philosophy. Fundamentally, the Liberals have to decide whether they are the party of Robert Menzies or Rupert Murdoch. Menzies was a great pragmatist, principled but not ideological, who adapted to his times. He was preoccupied with the concerns and interests of the suburban middle class, not the capitalist class but the ordinary men and women of aspiration. Murdoch is a right-wing populist interested in pressing always further rightward to build constituencies favourable to his own business interests. The Liberals have to choose. Once they decide whether to continue following the Murdoch pied piper to electoral irrelevance or to rediscover the Menzian attachment to middle Australia, all their other choices will become clearer. And the Nationals? They are now reduced to four senators. The same number as One Nation. And, like One Nation, the Nationals won a touch over 6 per cent of the national primary vote for the House. 'We, as Liberals, would never allow One Nation to determine our policies,' points out a Lib. So, his logic runs, why should the party accept the Nationals' terms?
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
'Traditional but unconventional': Sussan Ley pays tribute to mum at funeral
Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley has told of how her mother Angela Braybrooks, as a psychiatric nurse, saved the life of a patient and made it "much better than before". The remarkable legacy was one of many recalled as the member for Farrer gave the eulogy for the 93 year-old who died on May 17, four days after her daughter became the first woman to lead the federal Liberal Party. Family and friends gathered at St Matthew's Anglican Church, where Mrs Braybrooks had been a devoted parishioner for decades, for the farewell conducted by Father Peter MacLeod-Miller. Among the mourners were former National Party leaders Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce and Liberal senators Anne Ruston and Michaelia Cash, who sat on a front bench of the nave. Albury MP Justin Clancy and Albury councillor and former mayor Kylie King also attended. Ms Ley said her mother's life, which included 61 years of wedlock to Edgar Braybrooks, who died at 103 in 2021, was "traditional but also unconventional". It included meeting Mr Braybrooks through a dating service and then following him to Nigeria, from where he proposed via telephone while working as a policeman. "A loving marriage to my father was at the centre of her world, but it did not completely define her," Ms Ley told the congregation. "Her training as a nurse, her attachment in later life to the Anglican faith, her love of birds and the stars, and her passion for helping those struggling with mental illness, also formed the person she became." English-born Mrs Braybrooks' professional skill was evident when she migrated to Australia in 1974 and nursed in mental health wards, becoming the psychiatric nurse in charge at a Canberra hospital, "a role she excelled at and loved". "Only a few months ago, I received an email from a woman who had been looked after by my mother, saying, 'I shall not ever forget the love, care and wisdom she showed'," Ms Ley said. "'The support saved my life. "'Not only that, gave my life back to me much better than before. "'Since little was known about mental illness then, and little to help families, your mother was sent from up above'." Mrs Braybrooks, growing up as an only child, had to cope with the turbulence of a father who "either did not speak or said horrible things". He had been a World War I soldier before becoming an Anglican vicar. "She would say that it took her half her life to get over her childhood," Ms Ley said. "She turned away from religion for many of her adult years until she realised, through training as a mental health nurse, that her father had clinical depression. "She understood that his experience, in the trenches of the Western Front, had encouraged him towards both a belief in God, but had also sparked his illness. "When she finally forgave him, she allowed herself to come back to the church, even studying for a diploma in theology." Mrs Braybrooks' religious fervour was to the fore in the service, which included an array of hymns, Bible readings and a prayer linked to explorer Sir Francis Drake. Granddaughter Georgina Ley, whose words were read to the funeral after she was unable to attend due to illness, told of her grandmother's temporal loves, which ranged from Lady Grey tea to cooking to just sitting quietly. "Granny always had a very full life," she said. "She was very good at sewing and embroidery, making everything from cushions and dresses, when we were little, to dolls and our library bags for school." Father MacLeod-Miller, described as Mrs Braybrooks' salvation and friend by Ms Ley, ended the funeral by saying the bells of St Matthew's, "which were also cast in England", would "not be tolling out of sadness, but pealing out of joy". He then joined Ms Ley in planting Winston Churchill daffodil bulbs in the church grounds at the relatively recent burial site of Mrs Braybrooks' cat Little Tree. A photo portrait of the pet and a snapshot of Father MacLeod-Miller and Mrs Braybrooks had sat on the coffin throughout the funeral. Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley has told of how her mother Angela Braybrooks, as a psychiatric nurse, saved the life of a patient and made it "much better than before". The remarkable legacy was one of many recalled as the member for Farrer gave the eulogy for the 93 year-old who died on May 17, four days after her daughter became the first woman to lead the federal Liberal Party. Family and friends gathered at St Matthew's Anglican Church, where Mrs Braybrooks had been a devoted parishioner for decades, for the farewell conducted by Father Peter MacLeod-Miller. Among the mourners were former National Party leaders Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce and Liberal senators Anne Ruston and Michaelia Cash, who sat on a front bench of the nave. Albury MP Justin Clancy and Albury councillor and former mayor Kylie King also attended. Ms Ley said her mother's life, which included 61 years of wedlock to Edgar Braybrooks, who died at 103 in 2021, was "traditional but also unconventional". It included meeting Mr Braybrooks through a dating service and then following him to Nigeria, from where he proposed via telephone while working as a policeman. "A loving marriage to my father was at the centre of her world, but it did not completely define her," Ms Ley told the congregation. "Her training as a nurse, her attachment in later life to the Anglican faith, her love of birds and the stars, and her passion for helping those struggling with mental illness, also formed the person she became." English-born Mrs Braybrooks' professional skill was evident when she migrated to Australia in 1974 and nursed in mental health wards, becoming the psychiatric nurse in charge at a Canberra hospital, "a role she excelled at and loved". "Only a few months ago, I received an email from a woman who had been looked after by my mother, saying, 'I shall not ever forget the love, care and wisdom she showed'," Ms Ley said. "'The support saved my life. "'Not only that, gave my life back to me much better than before. "'Since little was known about mental illness then, and little to help families, your mother was sent from up above'." Mrs Braybrooks, growing up as an only child, had to cope with the turbulence of a father who "either did not speak or said horrible things". He had been a World War I soldier before becoming an Anglican vicar. "She would say that it took her half her life to get over her childhood," Ms Ley said. "She turned away from religion for many of her adult years until she realised, through training as a mental health nurse, that her father had clinical depression. "She understood that his experience, in the trenches of the Western Front, had encouraged him towards both a belief in God, but had also sparked his illness. "When she finally forgave him, she allowed herself to come back to the church, even studying for a diploma in theology." Mrs Braybrooks' religious fervour was to the fore in the service, which included an array of hymns, Bible readings and a prayer linked to explorer Sir Francis Drake. Granddaughter Georgina Ley, whose words were read to the funeral after she was unable to attend due to illness, told of her grandmother's temporal loves, which ranged from Lady Grey tea to cooking to just sitting quietly. "Granny always had a very full life," she said. "She was very good at sewing and embroidery, making everything from cushions and dresses, when we were little, to dolls and our library bags for school." Father MacLeod-Miller, described as Mrs Braybrooks' salvation and friend by Ms Ley, ended the funeral by saying the bells of St Matthew's, "which were also cast in England", would "not be tolling out of sadness, but pealing out of joy". He then joined Ms Ley in planting Winston Churchill daffodil bulbs in the church grounds at the relatively recent burial site of Mrs Braybrooks' cat Little Tree. A photo portrait of the pet and a snapshot of Father MacLeod-Miller and Mrs Braybrooks had sat on the coffin throughout the funeral. Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley has told of how her mother Angela Braybrooks, as a psychiatric nurse, saved the life of a patient and made it "much better than before". The remarkable legacy was one of many recalled as the member for Farrer gave the eulogy for the 93 year-old who died on May 17, four days after her daughter became the first woman to lead the federal Liberal Party. Family and friends gathered at St Matthew's Anglican Church, where Mrs Braybrooks had been a devoted parishioner for decades, for the farewell conducted by Father Peter MacLeod-Miller. Among the mourners were former National Party leaders Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce and Liberal senators Anne Ruston and Michaelia Cash, who sat on a front bench of the nave. Albury MP Justin Clancy and Albury councillor and former mayor Kylie King also attended. Ms Ley said her mother's life, which included 61 years of wedlock to Edgar Braybrooks, who died at 103 in 2021, was "traditional but also unconventional". It included meeting Mr Braybrooks through a dating service and then following him to Nigeria, from where he proposed via telephone while working as a policeman. "A loving marriage to my father was at the centre of her world, but it did not completely define her," Ms Ley told the congregation. "Her training as a nurse, her attachment in later life to the Anglican faith, her love of birds and the stars, and her passion for helping those struggling with mental illness, also formed the person she became." English-born Mrs Braybrooks' professional skill was evident when she migrated to Australia in 1974 and nursed in mental health wards, becoming the psychiatric nurse in charge at a Canberra hospital, "a role she excelled at and loved". "Only a few months ago, I received an email from a woman who had been looked after by my mother, saying, 'I shall not ever forget the love, care and wisdom she showed'," Ms Ley said. "'The support saved my life. "'Not only that, gave my life back to me much better than before. "'Since little was known about mental illness then, and little to help families, your mother was sent from up above'." Mrs Braybrooks, growing up as an only child, had to cope with the turbulence of a father who "either did not speak or said horrible things". He had been a World War I soldier before becoming an Anglican vicar. "She would say that it took her half her life to get over her childhood," Ms Ley said. "She turned away from religion for many of her adult years until she realised, through training as a mental health nurse, that her father had clinical depression. "She understood that his experience, in the trenches of the Western Front, had encouraged him towards both a belief in God, but had also sparked his illness. "When she finally forgave him, she allowed herself to come back to the church, even studying for a diploma in theology." Mrs Braybrooks' religious fervour was to the fore in the service, which included an array of hymns, Bible readings and a prayer linked to explorer Sir Francis Drake. Granddaughter Georgina Ley, whose words were read to the funeral after she was unable to attend due to illness, told of her grandmother's temporal loves, which ranged from Lady Grey tea to cooking to just sitting quietly. "Granny always had a very full life," she said. "She was very good at sewing and embroidery, making everything from cushions and dresses, when we were little, to dolls and our library bags for school." Father MacLeod-Miller, described as Mrs Braybrooks' salvation and friend by Ms Ley, ended the funeral by saying the bells of St Matthew's, "which were also cast in England", would "not be tolling out of sadness, but pealing out of joy". He then joined Ms Ley in planting Winston Churchill daffodil bulbs in the church grounds at the relatively recent burial site of Mrs Braybrooks' cat Little Tree. A photo portrait of the pet and a snapshot of Father MacLeod-Miller and Mrs Braybrooks had sat on the coffin throughout the funeral. Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley has told of how her mother Angela Braybrooks, as a psychiatric nurse, saved the life of a patient and made it "much better than before". The remarkable legacy was one of many recalled as the member for Farrer gave the eulogy for the 93 year-old who died on May 17, four days after her daughter became the first woman to lead the federal Liberal Party. Family and friends gathered at St Matthew's Anglican Church, where Mrs Braybrooks had been a devoted parishioner for decades, for the farewell conducted by Father Peter MacLeod-Miller. Among the mourners were former National Party leaders Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce and Liberal senators Anne Ruston and Michaelia Cash, who sat on a front bench of the nave. Albury MP Justin Clancy and Albury councillor and former mayor Kylie King also attended. Ms Ley said her mother's life, which included 61 years of wedlock to Edgar Braybrooks, who died at 103 in 2021, was "traditional but also unconventional". It included meeting Mr Braybrooks through a dating service and then following him to Nigeria, from where he proposed via telephone while working as a policeman. "A loving marriage to my father was at the centre of her world, but it did not completely define her," Ms Ley told the congregation. "Her training as a nurse, her attachment in later life to the Anglican faith, her love of birds and the stars, and her passion for helping those struggling with mental illness, also formed the person she became." English-born Mrs Braybrooks' professional skill was evident when she migrated to Australia in 1974 and nursed in mental health wards, becoming the psychiatric nurse in charge at a Canberra hospital, "a role she excelled at and loved". "Only a few months ago, I received an email from a woman who had been looked after by my mother, saying, 'I shall not ever forget the love, care and wisdom she showed'," Ms Ley said. "'The support saved my life. "'Not only that, gave my life back to me much better than before. "'Since little was known about mental illness then, and little to help families, your mother was sent from up above'." Mrs Braybrooks, growing up as an only child, had to cope with the turbulence of a father who "either did not speak or said horrible things". He had been a World War I soldier before becoming an Anglican vicar. "She would say that it took her half her life to get over her childhood," Ms Ley said. "She turned away from religion for many of her adult years until she realised, through training as a mental health nurse, that her father had clinical depression. "She understood that his experience, in the trenches of the Western Front, had encouraged him towards both a belief in God, but had also sparked his illness. "When she finally forgave him, she allowed herself to come back to the church, even studying for a diploma in theology." Mrs Braybrooks' religious fervour was to the fore in the service, which included an array of hymns, Bible readings and a prayer linked to explorer Sir Francis Drake. Granddaughter Georgina Ley, whose words were read to the funeral after she was unable to attend due to illness, told of her grandmother's temporal loves, which ranged from Lady Grey tea to cooking to just sitting quietly. "Granny always had a very full life," she said. "She was very good at sewing and embroidery, making everything from cushions and dresses, when we were little, to dolls and our library bags for school." Father MacLeod-Miller, described as Mrs Braybrooks' salvation and friend by Ms Ley, ended the funeral by saying the bells of St Matthew's, "which were also cast in England", would "not be tolling out of sadness, but pealing out of joy". He then joined Ms Ley in planting Winston Churchill daffodil bulbs in the church grounds at the relatively recent burial site of Mrs Braybrooks' cat Little Tree. A photo portrait of the pet and a snapshot of Father MacLeod-Miller and Mrs Braybrooks had sat on the coffin throughout the funeral.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Dumped senator vows to 'straighten tiara', move forward
Liberal senator Jane Hume has vowed to straighten her tiara and get on with the job after being dumped from shadow cabinet by the opposition leader. The Victorian senator was the highest profile demotion when Sussan Ley unveiled her leadership team earlier this week. It came after Senator Hume wore some of the internal blame for the Liberals' disastrous election result after spearheading an unpopular return to work policy blamed for alienating women voters. The coalition was forced to drop the proposal to force public service workers back into the office mid-election campaign after severe backlash. "Of course it hurts," Senator Hume told Seven's Sunrise on Friday. "It hurts professionally because I was a hard-working and prolific and high profile member of the frontbench in the previous opposition. "It hurts personally too because Sussan and I are friends." But Senator Hume vowed to continue the fight from the backbench and speak her mind as she was no longer bound by the need to toe the party line as a member of the shadow ministry. "There is something very liberating about being on the backbench and being able to speak without having to stick to the party line and without having to stick to talking points," she said. "The most important thing we can all do here now is get behind Sussan Ley, put our shoulders to the wheel because there's a very big task ahead of us. "As my very wise mother would say, 'stop your nonsense, chin up, chest out, straighten your tiara and let's get on with the job'." Ms Ley has said Senator Hume was an excellent performer and still had a lot to give to the party regardless of what position she held. Two other prominent conservative Liberal senators, Claire Chandler and Sarah Henderson, were also dumped from shadow cabinet by Ms Ley in a shakeup from the Peter Dutton era. Outspoken senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who sent shockwaves across the coalition when she defected from the National party room to join the Liberals in an ill-fated attempt to run for deputy leader, was also demoted. Senator Nampijinpa Price has been relegated to the outer ministry from cabinet after stirring controversy during the election campaign by mimicking US President Donald Trump's slogan when she pledged to "make Australian great again". It came at a time when the Liberals were trying to distance themselves from the US president's actions. Liberal moderates and political allies were rewarded by Ms Ley with promotions to the shadow cabinet and outer ministry. Shadow cabinet is made up of a delicate factional balance that also takes into consideration state representation and a Senate-lower house balance from within the cohort of MPs vying for seats.
7NEWS
2 days ago
- Politics
- 7NEWS
Liberal Senator Jane Hume admits ‘hurt' at brutal axing by new Coalition leader Sussan Ley
Liberal Senator Jane Hume has denied her high-profile axing had anything to do with work-from-home policies, after she was sacked from the shadow ministry by new party leader, Sussan Ley. Hume, a firebrand name in the party and one of its few female stars, served as former shadow finance minister. Victorian senator Sarah Henderson was also dumped from the frontbench. Hume openly backed Angus Taylor for the leadership, which many believe could be one of the reasons for her axing, an accusation which Ley has publicly denied. 'She is an enormously talented, fantastic member of this team who has contributed amazingly over her political career [and] will continue to do so,' Ley told media. On Friday, Sunrise host Nat Barr questioned Hume over her axing. 'If you're asking me whether I feel hurt or slighted by this move from Sussan, of course it hurts,' Hume said. 'It hurts professionally because I was a hard-working and prolific member of the frontbench in the previous Opposition. It hurts personally, too, because you know, Sussan and I are friends.' Hume explained she would focus on her ability to make a difference in Parliament. 'This isn't the playground. This is the Parliament. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to make a difference. 'I'm here to fight for the future of your kids, my kids, their kids, for freedom and choice and personal responsibility, and reward for effort, and the importance of small business, and the dangers of big government. 'I will continue to do that every day from whatever position I am in. 'And, in fact, there is something very liberating about being on the backbench and being able to speak without having to stick to the party line, and without having to stick to talking points. 'That's certainly going to make for much more interesting Sunrise interviews.' Hume went on to back Ley's leadership and call for party unity. 'The most important thing we can all do here now is get behind Sussan Ley, put our shoulders to the wheel. Because there's a very big task ahead of us. 'Not only to win back the hearts and minds and votes of Australians but also to hold this terrible government to account, and that's exactly what I am going to be doing every day, and every single one of my colleagues are going to be doing every day. 'As my very wise mother would say, 'stop your nonsense, chin up, chest out, straighten your tiara and let's get on with the job'.'
