Sussan Ley has shared how she spent her final moments with her mother, who passed days after she made history as the Liberal Party’s first female leader.
Angela Braybrooks, 93, spent her last days in palliative care and surrounded by family before passing on Saturday.
Following her election to Opposition Leader on Tuesday, Ley rushed to the hospital in Albury, on the NSW and Victorian border, to be with her mother.
‘When I got home, her eyes sort of lit up when she saw me,’ Ley told the Sunday Telegraph.
Ley was born in Nigeria as a British citizen and spent her early years in the Middle East where her father worked in military intelligence.
While most wives at the time stuck to their traditional roles as home makers, Ley recalled her mother constantly at work.
Ms Braybrooks ran a daycare, opened a library in their house and trained as a nurse when their family settled in Australia.
Ley proudly calls her mother her role model and told her such in their last moments together.
Sussan Ley’s mother, Angela Braybrooks (pictured together), died at 93 years old on Saturday
Ley rushed to the hospital in Albury to be with her mother following her election to Leader of the Opposition on Tuesday
‘I held her hand, I talked to her about life and things we’ve been through together, and I hope she hears,’ Ley said.
‘It’s a good opportunity to reflect on all things that she did in her life, because my mum was a bit of a trailblazer.’
The Opposition Leader shared news of her mother’s passing in an emotional Instagram post on Saturday.
‘In the very early hours of this morning, my mother, Angela Braybrooks, passed away here in Albury,’ Ley wrote.
‘My family and I feel this loss deeply.
‘We express our deep appreciation to the staff at Riverwood Aged Care facility for the quality care provided to Angela. In her final moments, she was comfortable and at peace.
‘Mum was a mental health nurse who helped so many people through her life. She taught me the values of resilience, self-reliance and persistence.’
Ley said when Ms Braybrooks grew up in wartime Britain she ‘could never have dreamed that her daughter would become Australia’s first female Leader of the Opposition, but because of her, that happened this week’.
Ley recalled her mother being a ‘trailblazer’ growing up and was grateful she saw the moment she was elected as Australia’s first female Opposition Leader
She said on Monday night a priest had urged her mother to ‘hang on’ so she could see one more special moment in her daughter’s life, promising her, ‘we’ll have champagne tomorrow’.
‘On Tuesday, hours after I was afforded the enormous privilege by my Liberal colleagues of leading our party, I drove back down the Hume Highway to be at her bedside,’ Ley said.
‘Whilst mum was no longer verbal, she watched every moment of my press conference. As I walked back into her room that afternoon, her eyes lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will treasure, forever.’
On Tuesday, Ley won a 29-25 vote against Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor to replace Peter Dutton.
Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien was elected as deputy leader, with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – who was aligned with Mr Taylor – dropping out of the contest shortly before the poll.
Ley, 63, is one of the Liberal Party’s most-experienced hands, having served as a Cabinet minister under the Coalition’s past three prime ministers – Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.
A former commercial pilot, farmer and public servant, she has held the rural seat of Farrer in NSW’s south-west since the retirement of her long-serving predecessor and former National Party leader and deputy prime minister Tim Fischer.
Ley famously changed the spelling of her first name from ‘Susan’ to ‘Sussan’ in her 20s after exploring numerology. She believed that adding an extra ‘s’ would make her life ‘incredibly exciting’ and ensure ‘nothing would ever be boring’.
Ley is a mother-of-three and had the support of the party’s moderates, with some believing a woman at the helm will help win back female voters.
