13-05-2025
Former punk rocker (and pilot) to lead Australian conservatives
Australia's main conservative party, reeling from an election defeat widely blamed on its association with President Trump, has elected a former punk rocker with British roots as its first female leader.
Sussan Ley, the Nigerian-born daughter of a British intelligence officer, was elected leader of Australia's dominant centre-right party, the Liberals, on Tuesday.
The general election ten days ago ended in a disastrous defeat for the opposition conservatives as the former leader, Peter Dutton, lost his seat in parliament.
Ley, 63, a former air traffic controller, commercial pilot and farmer who holds an economics degree, told reporters that the party's election loss would be subject to a review — as would all of its policies, including its position favouring nuclear power and its commitment to
