Sussan Ley: ‘We lost the flag, but we’re ready for a new season’

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is prepared to work for her party to come back stronger and faster. Picture: Martin Ollman

If you are one of the millions of dedicated footy fans, if you have barracked for one of our incredible Olympians or if you have been in a stadium cheering on the mighty Tillies, you will know you can’t always be on the winning side.

As a Sydney Swans supporter I know after the loss of a grand final, when you get towelled up you don’t give up.

You don’t drop your team or your belief in it either. You get a bag of ice, you watch the tapes and you get to work rebuilding.
You do the work to come back stronger and faster next season.

As someone who has served as an MP for the Liberal Party for almost 25 years, I have experienced both success and defeat. Just days ago we were handed a big loss that we must accept with humility.

Despite the result, the Liberal Party remains the most successful political party in Australian history. We have won more flags than any other team.

Our party has, more than any other, helped shape Australia into the prosperous, strong and fair society it is today.

But we have to face up to the fact that despite our best efforts, we have failed to connect with a changing electorate.

We have lost the trust of women and we have not convinced younger Australians that we have a plan to provide a fair go for their generation. We need to focus on renewing the compact we have had with Australians who live in cities, helping them deal with a rapidly changing economy and rising prices.

We have work to do. The reality is in recent elections we have failed to meet the expectations of the Australian community. We have to show the nurses, small business owners, tradies, teachers, farmers, parents and retirees, who ask for little but contribute a lot, that we understand their aspirations.

Sussan Ley believes the Liberals must kick on by staying true to their values to meet community expectations.

Australians sent a clear message at the election. We must listen, change and develop a fresh approach. To take a term from footy, we need to look at our system.

We need to understand what sort of team we are, and we need to come up with a new agenda to take to the Australian people.

Now more than ever, the federal Liberal Party must respect, reflect and represent modern Australia.

There is enormous talent in my partyroom. One of our biggest strengths is the different backgrounds my team members have and the different life experiences that have shaped them.

A diversity of opinions is not, as many commentators would have you think, a sign of weakness. My team cares about the future of our party because it knows we have the right values to keep Australians strong and secure.

As leader, I have committed to a full assessment of why we lost the election.

Aaron Violi has spoken about the need to examine why the Liberal Party lost the election. Picture: David Beach

Properly understanding the causes of our defeat helps us determine the direction in which we must head.

I am optimistic we can rebuild and regain the trust of Australians because our party has been here before.

Following the loss of the Fraser government we commissioned the Valder Report. “Facing the Facts” was a comprehensive review that drew on views across our great party and the community. It set us on a course through a difficult period for our party.

We need to ensure our response to this recent defeat is equally comprehensive and consultative. But as we work out why we failed to win the flag at this election, and decide the path forward, there are things I can make clear are not going to change.

Our policies are up for review. But our values are not.

The Liberal Party I lead will not be altering our enduring commitment to what is best for Australia’s national interest. We will always stand for lower, simpler and fairer taxes – not as an economic ideology, but because we trust people to spend their own money more than we do the government.

Sussan Ley and Ted O’Brien are preparing to do the hard yards in their bid to turn around the party’s fortunes. Picture: Getty Images

We will always take education seriously, not for slogans or funding battles, but because knowledge and critical thinking are so important – especially for our children.

We will always support families, not just with payments, but with policies that respect their choices – in childcare, housing, education, and retirement.

And we continue our steadfast support of our alliances and security agreements such as ANZUS and AUKUS, because we must have an urgent, honest conversation with Australians about the deteriorating geopolitical environment in our region.

The next steps for our party are focused on listening to the community and rebuilding our movement.

But we will never shy away from our timeless values, which will always underpin our policy development processes.

We are ready to do the work; we are up for it; we will take a good hard look at ourselves. Preseason is about to begin and I know my team is hungry to get to work.

Sussan Ley is the Leader of the Opposition.