In her inaugural address as the opposition leader, Sussan Ley reflected on the Liberal Party’s significant electoral defeat, candidly stating that the Coalition “didn’t just lose, we got smashed.” This admission was part of a broader assessment of the party’s failings during the recent federal election campaign, prompting Ley to initiate a comprehensive review of the campaign’s strategy to learn from its mistakes.
Ley acknowledged that the message presented by the Liberal Party was decisively rejected by voters. “The scale of that defeat, its size and significance, is not lost on me, nor on any member of my parliamentary team,” she remarked. While she refrained from mentioning her predecessor, Peter Dutton, who also faced defeat, Ley emphasised her commitment as the first female leader of the opposition to “do better.”
A key focus of Ley’s address was her intention to increase female representation within the Coalition. She stated, “We need to do better, recruit better, retain better, and support better,” pledging to work with all divisions to ensure more women are pre-selected for the next election.
Ley’s future plans involve a thorough long-term review of the party, which she labelled as a “root-and-branch review” to gain insights into the recent electoral outcome. She asserted the importance of this review in shaping the party’s path ahead. “Never has a review been so crucial for the federal Liberal Party,” she noted, underscoring the need for an honest evaluation of the factors that contributed to their losses.
She expressed the ambition to create a robust alternative for Australian voters by addressing not only the party’s strategies but also its policies, which she admitted had failed to resonate effectively with the electorate. “We need to be serious and credible… This policy development wasn’t done well in the last term,” she conceded, recognising gaps that require urgent attention.
Ley dedicated a portion of her speech to advocating against domestic violence, which she described as a “national shame.” She expressed empathy towards victims, stating, “I understand the fear you feel when you go for a walk alone. Because I have felt that fear too.” This focus highlighted Ley’s commitment to addressing critical social issues as part of the party’s renewed agenda.
Through her address, Ley offered a vision of renewal for the Liberal Party, emphasising the necessity for introspection, adaptation, and a recommitment to core values that resonate with all Australians, particularly women, in order to regain public trust and support leading up to the next election.