‘We got smashed’: Ley orders existential review of her own party

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will order a second, sweeping review of the Liberals’ core purpose and direction after acknowledging her party had been “smashed” by Labor at the federal election.

In her first major speech at the National Press Club as party leader on Wednesday, Ley will directly address the electoral drubbing the Liberals experienced at the May 3 poll in which the Coalition lost 15 lower-house MPs to drop to just 43 seats, as well as three senators.

The federal opposition leader Sussan Ley.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

After the Liberals announced a review of their election campaign last week, Ley will announce a second, deeper review of the existential problems facing the party, including the rise of the teals, the party’s ageing membership and perceptions that it is deaf to the concerns of modern women.

The new opposition leader, who has already had to stare down a National Party revolt that temporarily split the Coalition, will promise to always be honest with Australians, according to speech notes seen by this masthead.

“So, let’s be honest and up front about last month’s election. We didn’t just lose. We got smashed. We respect the election outcome with humility. We accept it with contrition. And we must learn from it with conviction,” she will say.

Ley is the first female leader of an opposition to address the press club, but will play down the significance of her appearance at the venue.

“In recent weeks, a lot has been made of the fact that I am the first woman elected to lead the Liberal Party of Australia, and the first woman leader of the opposition,” Ley will say. “Whilst this sends a strong signal that we are taking a fresh approach and doing things differently, I am not here today to speak about milestones or firsts.”

“As we seek to regain trust with all voters across our great country, the task before me – and my team – is to lead a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, reflects modern Australia and represents modern Australia.”

The party’s regular election review is being led by party elders Nick Minchin, a former federal senator and finance minister, and Pru Goward, a former NSW government housing minister. It is due to report back by the end of the year.

The second review, plans for which were revealed by this masthead earlier this month, will go much further and focus on longer-term challenges the Liberal Party faces.

“As important as the election review is, it’s clear the issues confronting our great Liberal movement go deeper,” Ley will say.

Liberal National Party Queensland senator James McGrath, who has recently returned to the frontbench as shadow special minister of state and has years of experience working as a senior party official in Australia and the UK, has been touted as a possible candidate to lead the longer-term review.

In an interview last month, McGrath floated the idea of a special commission of inquiry into the party’s reason for existence, a similar proposal to the deeper review Ley will greenlight.

Ley’s speech is the first by a Liberal Party leader at the press club in more than three years, after Peter Dutton snubbed the Canberra institution for the entirety of his term in the top job.

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