Liberal frontbencher accuses Angus Taylor of treachery, incompetence

Liberal frontbencher Hollie Hughes has launched an extraordinary attack on shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, accusing him of using his authority to push her off the Senate ticket for the next election and undermining Peter Dutton to bolster his own leadership chances.

Hughes, who holds junior opposition portfolios of mental health and the NDIS, claimed Taylor’s decision to endorse a challenger to the NSW Senate team was an attempt to boost the shadow treasurer’s numbers in Canberra for a potential future leadership tilt.

Angus Taylor and Peter Dutton in parliament in March.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Peter Dutton has run a completely unified team. It beggars belief a senior member would go against the leadership in a successful attempt to disrupt the shadow ministerial team,” Hughes said, pointing out the convention of sitting MPs backing incumbent colleagues in candidate selection contests.

“This is a message to colleagues that some people’s ambition is more focused on themselves rather than the betterment of the team.”

The extraordinary row within the shadow ministry, a rare outbreak of Coalition disunity this term, stems from Taylor’s decision to back challenger Jessica Collins, a Lowy Institute fellow, against sitting senators Hughes and Andrew Bragg.

Collins, who spruiked Taylor’s written endorsement to Liberal members before last month’s vote, won more votes than Hughes, 191-167. This allowed Collins to join Bragg in the winnable positions and effectively boots Hughes from parliament after the next election, which is expected to be held no later than next May.

Hollie Hughes has been turfed from a winnable spot on the Liberals’ NSW Senate ticket at the next election.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The extent to which Taylor’s support helped Collins is unclear, as the shadow treasurer has backed losing candidates in previous preselections.

“This was a decision made by hundreds of grassroots members of the NSW Liberal Party,” Taylor said. “I look forward to supporting all of our endorsed candidates at the upcoming federal election.”

Dutton backed Hughes, exposing a division between the leader and a senior shadow minister considered a possible leadership alternative.

Hughes noted her term ran out in July 2025, meaning she would remain a voting member of the party room in the case of a ballot for a new leader after the election.

Hinting at how she would vote if Taylor were to run for leader, Hughes said: “I look forward to still being in the party room post-election.”

Liberal sources believe Dutton could remain leader next term if Labor drops seats and loses its narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

Hughes added: “As [veteran press gallery journalist] Dennis Shanahan said in The Australian, it’s time the shadow treasurer show some maturity and get across the detail on his policy areas.”

The Coalition’s effectiveness in prosecuting Labor’s economic management has been questioned this term, including by Scott Morrison’s former media chief Andrew Carswell, who said in April that the opposition needed sharper messaging on the cost of living.

However, this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor survey in May shows Labor has lost its leads over the Coalition from last year when voters are asked which party they think is better at managing the economy, keeping living costs down and handling national finances.

The opposition is ahead of Labor by between 6 and 11 percentage points on these questions.

Hughes’ defeat was a loss for the centre-right faction of the NSW division, in which feuding over party positions has hampered election campaigns. Collins’ win boosted the conservative faction of which Taylor is a key leader.

Taylor had another internal win recently when his preferred candidate, Simon Kennedy, replaced Scott Morrison in the seat of Cook, upsetting the moderate-backed candidate, Carmelo Pesce, who had been in line for the seat for years.

Hughes’ critics argue she did not do enough substantive work on policy and party advancement to solidify her Senate position, claiming she was too focused on appearing on Sky News’ late-night talk shows and appealing to rusted-on, right-wing Liberals.

Others say she was one of the more well-liked members of the party room, excelled in fundraising and had strong connections with corporate Australia.

In his written endorsement for Collins, Taylor said: “The Liberal Party needs senators that will help the party engage with the electorate as we fight to win the next election.”

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