‘Straighten your tiara and let’s get on with the job’: Hume admits she took Ley dumping personally

Liberal senator Jane Hume has rebuked Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for demoting her to the backbench, saying it hurt professionally, but she would now be free to speak her mind on television.

The embattled senator spoke publicly for the first time about her shock demotion while on breakfast television on Friday. The Coalition frontbench was unveiled earlier in the week, revealing Hume had been booted from her previous role in shadow finance.

Liberal senator Jane Hume was dumped from the shadow cabinet by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.Credit: James Brickwood

“If you’re asking me whether … I feel hurt or slighted by this move from Sussan, of course it hurts. It hurts professionally because I was a hard-working and prolific and high-profile member of the frontbench in the previous opposition,” Hume told Seven’s Sunrise.

“It hurts personally, too, because you know, Sussan and I are friends … [however], this isn’t the playground, this is the parliament. I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make a difference.”

Hume’s open frustration will test Ley’s ability to manage disappointed party members who are no longer bound by shadow cabinet solidarity, following the open disappointment expressed by Nationals defector Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on Sky News hours after she was sent to the outer ministry role of defence industry and personnel.

Hume said she would now be free to speak her mind, and that would make for good television.

“There is something very liberating about being on the backbench and being able to speak without having to stick to the party line and without having to stick to talking points. That’s certainly going to make for much more interesting Sunrise interviews. So, you’re very lucky, I think,” Hume said to host Natalie Barr.

Credit: Matt Golding

Hume came under fire during the election campaign as the lead on the Coalition’s policy ordering public servants back to the office full-time. Then-opposition leader Peter Dutton backflipped on the policy a little over a week into the campaign.

Later on election eve, Hume made remarks about “Chinese spies” working for Labor, which Penny Wong weaponised in a series of messages to the Chinese-Australian community on social media.

However, Ley privately told colleagues that Hume was not being punished for the election mistakes, arguing the senator could one day return to the shadow cabinet.

During Ley’s press conference unveiling the shadow cabinet on Wednesday, the opposition leader was peppered with questions on why Hume – who has been a minister or shadow minister since 2019 – was demoted to the backbench.

“I promised my leadership would be done differently, and it will be,” Ley said on Wednesday. “I always said that I would harness the talents of my party room. Everyone has a role to play, even if they are not formally in the line-up.

“I don’t reflect on private conversations. I will say that this, these are tough days, and having been through many days like this myself in my parliamentary career, I recognise that.”

Hume added the most important thing she could do now was get behind Ley and reform the Coalition to “win back the hearts and minds and votes of Australians”.

“As my very wise mother would say, ‘Stop your nonsense, chin up, chest out, straighten your tiara and let’s get on with the job’.”

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