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Sussan Ley speaks for the first time after being appointed as federal Liberal party leader
The Border Mail
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5/13/2025
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News
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00:00
It is an enormous privilege to have been elected the Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party.
00:09
I am humbled, I am honoured and I am up for the job. Ted, it's terrific to have you join me
00:16
as a Deputy. Here in this room, just a couple of hours ago, our colleagues placed their faith
00:23
and their trust in us. And these positions are gifts of our party room and I will always respect
00:32
and value what the members of my party room tell me. I have great affection and great connection
00:41
with the Liberal Party party room over a career of 25 years. And I've spent a lot of time this week
00:47
talking to my colleagues and I'm optimistic that they have the right ideas and I'm positive about
00:55
what lies ahead. But on May the 3rd we faced a significant defeat and the scale and the size
01:05
of that defeat is not lost on any of us. And right now we have to respect the result
01:14
and reflect with humility. Can I say something about Angus Taylor? Can I acknowledge Angus Taylor
01:24
for putting his hand up to lead the Liberal Party? He would have been a fine leader of the Liberal Party
01:31
at this time. Angus and I have worked collegiately together over many years in government and in
01:38
opposition. He's an intelligent, talented contributor to so many ideas, initiatives and what we need to
01:49
do as a Liberal Party going forward. And he will have an integral role in our party with the next steps
01:56
going forward. As I said, we listened to the Australian people on Saturday and we will continue to listen to
02:04
them around the country. We have to have a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, that reflects
02:13
modern Australia and that represents modern Australia. And we have to meet the people where they are.
02:20
And that's what I'm committed to doing and what I'm determined to do. I want to do things differently
02:27
and we have to have a fresh approach. I want to harness the talents of every single person in our party
02:36
room going forward to develop the clear, articulate policy agenda that does meet Australians where they
02:44
are, to develop robust policy processes, to value those contributions. And I can't wait to get started,
02:53
along with Ted on that important task. I want to talk a little bit about me.
03:01
And I want to talk about my views of the Liberal Party, because the Liberal Party has shaped the
03:07
person that I am today. My story is a migrant story. It's a small business story. It's a rural Australia
03:15
story. It's a story about a mum and a family. And it is a modern Australian story. When I came to this
03:23
country as a young girl from a cold English boarding school in my teenage years, I stepped out of the
03:29
aeroplane at Brisbane Airport and I looked at this brilliant blue sky and I knew that I'd come to the
03:34
best country on earth. And I knew that Australia was a place where I could dream my biggest dreams.
03:40
And I have. And I've never stopped feeling grateful for this country, for what it has given me.
03:45
I was able to pursue the dream of flying and become a pilot, an aerial stock mustering pilot,
03:52
flying very small planes, very close to the ground. And in my life in Western Queensland,
03:59
I worked in the shearing sheds. I learnt the value of a hard day's work in the hot sun. I learnt the real
04:07
value of and the dignity of manual labour. And I always said there was no better wisdom than the
04:15
wisdom of the shearers in their singlets sitting at the huts at the end of a hard, hard day.
04:21
And while they may not have had the education or the training that perhaps others have had,
04:29
I will always respect that wisdom. And I love it when I see it across this magnificent country.
04:36
I became, as I said, a farmer's wife, where I raised my three children on the family farm.
04:42
And they were tough years, just like the years so many Australians are experiencing now on the land,
04:48
with the drought that's biting, particularly in Northern Victoria and Western Victoria.
04:54
But from those tough times, I became a strong person, I believe. And I went to study when I was in
05:01
my 30s. Like many mums on the farm, we needed the income. And I was able to pursue three finance degrees,
05:08
including a specialty master's in tax law, which is where my great interest in tax policy comes from.
05:16
But I found my pathway into politics. And I aligned with Liberal values through the hard work,
05:22
the effort, the reward, the opportunity. They were my story, and they're many Australian stories.
05:28
And I'm still just as passionate about the Liberal Party as I was when I hooked up my caravan,
05:34
the caravan I lived in as a Shearer's cook, painted it with Liberal Party logos,
05:39
and towed it up and down the Murray River. By then I had an economics degree and I thought that people
05:44
would be interested in my analysis of countervailing tariffs.
05:47
What I learnt was people wanted me to listen to what their lives were like. And I did. And I wanted
05:54
to represent them. And I knew that nobody in Canberra understood what life was like in the small
05:59
rural community where I came from. And that fired my determination to walk into the government party
06:06
room led by John Howard in 2001. I am, as I said, incredibly grateful for what the Liberal Party has
06:14
given me. And everything that I am, as I stand before you today, is reflected by the party that
06:21
has been part of, well, over half of my adult life. And each one of my colleagues has their own uniquely
06:29
Australian story. And as we develop robust processes with respect to policies going forward, I know that
06:38
that their individual life's journeys will impact that. And that will mean that those policies best
06:44
reflect what the Australian people are looking for. And I know, at the next election, we will have
06:51
a competitive policy offering. I know, because, Ted, you, me, and all of our colleagues, we stood
06:57
at polling booths across this country and we saw the look on people's faces as they came in,
07:02
sadly not to vote for us. And they were disappointed and they felt let down. And we understand that.
07:09
And we must learn from that. And we must take the time to get it right. So I've committed to doing
07:15
that, taking the time to get it right. It is time to step up, regroup and rebuild for the Australian people.
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