Sussan Ley has been announced as the new leader of the opposition party, taking the top job from Peter Dutton. She is the first woman to hold the leadership role.
Australia’s conservative opposition has a new leader at the helm. Former deputy Sussan Ley has taken the reins of the Liberal Party, marking a significant leadership shift on the right side of Australian politics.
Ley represents a regional district close to the borders of Victoria, NSW, and South Australia. The 61-year-old entered federal politics almost 25 years ago, after holding positions as director of the Australian Taxation Office, a stock-mustering pilot, and an air traffic controller.
“The Liberal Party needs to listen to the Australian people and meet them where they are. We need to understand their aspirations. We need to listen and we need to change,” Ley wrote on Instagram this week.
“The Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia.”
Over the last decade Ley has held roles as the Shadow Minister for Women, Shadow Minister for Industry, Skills and Training and Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business.
Ted O’Brien, Liberal member for Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, is stepping in as deputy leader of the Opposition. O’Brien held the Climate Change and Energy Shadow Minister role.
Ley’s district Farrer covers an area of more than 125,000 square kilometres and 115,000 electors. The primary industry is agriculture, producing cotton, rice, cereals, dairy products, wool, cattle, citrus and vegetables.
Ley herself was a wool and beef farmer during the 1990s, according to her biography. She was born in Nigeria and completed a Bachelors in Economics at La Trobe University, before undertaking a Masters in Accounting through Charles Sturt University.
Peter Dutton, the former leader of the Liberal Party, was at the helm in the May federal election. Not only did he lead the Opposition to a resounding loss, he also lost his seat in the district of Dickson, Queensland.
More to come
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