Opposition leader Sussan Ley has revealed a personal heartbreak in her first TV interview since she replaced Peter Dutton in the role – prompting Sunrise host Nat Barr to recall her own struggles balancing work and her family life.
Barr congratulated Ley on being Australia’s first female Liberal leader and asked how she responded to the party voting her in.
‘Well, the first thing I did, Nat, was jump in the car after the big press conference and come back to see my mum, who is in end-of-life care here in Albury,’ Ley said.
Ley, 63, secured 29 votes compared to Angus Taylor’s 25 when the Liberals met on Tuesday at Parliament House in Canberra, before she travelled to Albury on the NSW and Victorian border. Member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien, secured the deputy role.
‘I want to thank everyone for their good wishes, mums are very special,’ Ley said.
‘My mum raised me to be the woman I am, I just wanted to talk with her, to speak to my daughters and my son, and to reflect – with gratitude – on the experiences I’ve had in this incredible country.’
Ley, who was born in Nigeria to English parents, said that she arrived in Australia as a migrant and had raised her children here and ‘worked many different jobs, including on the farm as a farmer’s wife, as I call myself’.
‘Mine is a modern Australian story, like so many other women and families I meet. It’s an enormous privilege and humbling experience taking on this role, and I’m very grateful for the faith and trust my party room has placed in me.’
Sussan Ley said she drown from Canberra to Albury to see her ill mother after she won the Liberal party leadership vote following Peter Dutton’s shock ousting from Parliament
Ley beat out Angus Taylor for the job and Ted O’Brien was chosen as her deputy (pictured)
Barr thanked Ley, the Member for Farrer, for her candour and shared her own honest reflection, admitting that holding a high-profile role comes with significant challenges.
‘When you take on these big roles your personal life doesn’t stop, and we’re so sorry you’re going through that with your mum, love to you and your family,’ Barr said.
Barr revealed earlier this month she spent much of last year downhearted after her two sons Hunter, 18, and Andrew, 22, moved out, leaving her and husband Andrew Thompson alone in their ‘quiet’ Mosman house.
‘I’m not feeling the new chapter yet,’ she previously told Stellar Magazine.
‘The first one left several years ago and he’s at uni in Melbourne and the second one left a few weeks ago, he went to uni in Canberra.
‘We packed up the car, drove him down, said goodbye and drove back bawling our eyes out.
‘You say all the right things: You have all this freedom, you can do what you want, it’s a new beginning for you. But I don’t feel that yet, I honestly just feel sad. That’s the honest truth.’
Barr previously said she was ‘sad’ after both her sons Lachlan, 23, and Hunter, 19, moved out of home. Pictured Barr, husband Andrew Thompson and their son Lachlan
Barr revealed earlier this month she spent much of last year downhearted after her two sons Hunter, 18, and Andrew, 22, moved out, leaving her and husband Andrew Thompson alone in their ‘quiet’ Mosman house.
After the emotional moment, Barr quickly returned to her trademark no-nonsense style of questioning.
‘Let’s get back to business, that’s the job,’ Barr said.
‘There’s talk that the Nationals may opt out of the Coalition. One contentious issue is your plan to retain the nuclear policy. Where do you stand?’
The Coalition agreement is negotiated after every election and determines policy positions taken by the parties, as well as how the frontbench responsibilities are split up.
Ley said a decision had not been reached on whether the Coalition will ditch the nuclear policy it took to the last election, which would have built seven reactors by the mid-2030s across five states.
She added it was a ‘private conversation’ and did not reveal what they talked about, but added it was a ‘productive and positive first meeting, and it won’t be the last’.
She said the Coalition needed to better represent ‘modern Australia’.
‘It’s a big challenge,’ Barr said.
‘Women and young people have abandoned your party in large numbers. What’s one thing you know you want to change?’
Ley responded: ‘The hard work women do balancing careers, family, childcare, aging parents, the mortgage. I’ve met so many women in those situations, and on my own journey is similar.
‘I want our policy agenda to meet modern women, and indeed all Australians, where they are. My role is to harness the talents of every member of our team to promote that agenda and work every day for the people of Australia.’
