‘Gift of fate’: Sussan Ley mourns death of mother Angela

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has paid tribute to her mother, who has died just four days after her daughter made history by becoming the Liberal Party’s first female leader.

Ley said Angela Braybrooks died in Albury early on Saturday morning and was “comfortable and at peace” in her final moments.

Sussan Ley said her mother’s eyes lit up when she was elected opposition leader.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“My family and I feel this loss deeply,” Ley said in a statement on Saturday.

“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.”

Expressing appreciation to the aged care workers who helped care for her mother, Ley said her mother could never have dreamt that her daughter would lead one of Australia’s major political parties while growing up in wartime Britain.

“Like so many of her generation, she weathered uncertain times with strength and determination,” she said.

“I have taken inspiration from her every single day of my life and I always will.”

Ley continued: “It was a gift of fate that I was able to share Mother’s Day with my mum one last time on Sunday.

“On Monday night in Canberra, our parish priest organised a FaceTime call, telling Angela she had to ‘hang on’ to see one more special moment in her daughter’s life. If she could do that, he promised her, ‘We’ll have champagne tomorrow’.”

Ley defeated former shadow treasurer Angus Taylor 29 votes to 25 in the Liberal Party leadership contest on Tuesday before driving down the Hume Highway from Canberra to be at her mother’s bedside.

“Whilst Mum was no longer verbal, she watched every moment of my press conference,” she said.

“As I walked back into her room that afternoon, her eyes lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will treasure, forever.”

Ley thanked the many Australians who had expressed sympathies to her and her family.

The daughter of a British intelligence officer father, Ley was 13 when her family arrived in Australia from Britain. She went on to work as a pilot, waitress, air-traffic controller, farmhand and tax officer before she entered parliament in 2001.

She faces the monumental task of rebuilding the Liberal Party after a crushing defeat saw it lose at least 13 seats in its worst defeat since the party was founded.

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