Sussan Ley speaks for the first time after being appointed as federal Liberal party leader

The Border Mail

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00:00It is an enormous privilege to have been elected the Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party.

00:09I am humbled, I am honoured and I am up for the job. Ted, it's terrific to have you join me

00:16as a Deputy. Here in this room, just a couple of hours ago, our colleagues placed their faith

00:23and their trust in us. And these positions are gifts of our party room and I will always respect

00:32and value what the members of my party room tell me. I have great affection and great connection

00:41with the Liberal Party party room over a career of 25 years. And I've spent a lot of time this week

00:47talking to my colleagues and I'm optimistic that they have the right ideas and I'm positive about

00:55what lies ahead. But on May the 3rd we faced a significant defeat and the scale and the size

01:05of that defeat is not lost on any of us. And right now we have to respect the result

01:14and reflect with humility. Can I say something about Angus Taylor? Can I acknowledge Angus Taylor

01:24for putting his hand up to lead the Liberal Party? He would have been a fine leader of the Liberal Party

01:31at this time. Angus and I have worked collegiately together over many years in government and in

01:38opposition. He's an intelligent, talented contributor to so many ideas, initiatives and what we need to

01:49do as a Liberal Party going forward. And he will have an integral role in our party with the next steps

01:56going forward. As I said, we listened to the Australian people on Saturday and we will continue to listen to

02:04them around the country. We have to have a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, that reflects

02:13modern Australia and that represents modern Australia. And we have to meet the people where they are.

02:20And that's what I'm committed to doing and what I'm determined to do. I want to do things differently

02:27and we have to have a fresh approach. I want to harness the talents of every single person in our party

02:36room going forward to develop the clear, articulate policy agenda that does meet Australians where they

02:44are, to develop robust policy processes, to value those contributions. And I can't wait to get started,

02:53along with Ted on that important task. I want to talk a little bit about me.

03:01And I want to talk about my views of the Liberal Party, because the Liberal Party has shaped the

03:07person that I am today. My story is a migrant story. It's a small business story. It's a rural Australia

03:15story. It's a story about a mum and a family. And it is a modern Australian story. When I came to this

03:23country as a young girl from a cold English boarding school in my teenage years, I stepped out of the

03:29aeroplane at Brisbane Airport and I looked at this brilliant blue sky and I knew that I'd come to the

03:34best country on earth. And I knew that Australia was a place where I could dream my biggest dreams.

03:40And I have. And I've never stopped feeling grateful for this country, for what it has given me.

03:45I was able to pursue the dream of flying and become a pilot, an aerial stock mustering pilot,

03:52flying very small planes, very close to the ground. And in my life in Western Queensland,

03:59I worked in the shearing sheds. I learnt the value of a hard day's work in the hot sun. I learnt the real

04:07value of and the dignity of manual labour. And I always said there was no better wisdom than the

04:15wisdom of the shearers in their singlets sitting at the huts at the end of a hard, hard day.

04:21And while they may not have had the education or the training that perhaps others have had,

04:29I will always respect that wisdom. And I love it when I see it across this magnificent country.

04:36I became, as I said, a farmer's wife, where I raised my three children on the family farm.

04:42And they were tough years, just like the years so many Australians are experiencing now on the land,

04:48with the drought that's biting, particularly in Northern Victoria and Western Victoria.

04:54But from those tough times, I became a strong person, I believe. And I went to study when I was in

05:01my 30s. Like many mums on the farm, we needed the income. And I was able to pursue three finance degrees,

05:08including a specialty master's in tax law, which is where my great interest in tax policy comes from.

05:16But I found my pathway into politics. And I aligned with Liberal values through the hard work,

05:22the effort, the reward, the opportunity. They were my story, and they're many Australian stories.

05:28And I'm still just as passionate about the Liberal Party as I was when I hooked up my caravan,

05:34the caravan I lived in as a Shearer's cook, painted it with Liberal Party logos,

05:39and towed it up and down the Murray River. By then I had an economics degree and I thought that people

05:44would be interested in my analysis of countervailing tariffs.

05:47What I learnt was people wanted me to listen to what their lives were like. And I did. And I wanted

05:54to represent them. And I knew that nobody in Canberra understood what life was like in the small

05:59rural community where I came from. And that fired my determination to walk into the government party

06:06room led by John Howard in 2001. I am, as I said, incredibly grateful for what the Liberal Party has

06:14given me. And everything that I am, as I stand before you today, is reflected by the party that

06:21has been part of, well, over half of my adult life. And each one of my colleagues has their own uniquely

06:29Australian story. And as we develop robust processes with respect to policies going forward, I know that

06:38that their individual life's journeys will impact that. And that will mean that those policies best

06:44reflect what the Australian people are looking for. And I know, at the next election, we will have

06:51a competitive policy offering. I know, because, Ted, you, me, and all of our colleagues, we stood

06:57at polling booths across this country and we saw the look on people's faces as they came in,

07:02sadly not to vote for us. And they were disappointed and they felt let down. And we understand that.

07:09And we must learn from that. And we must take the time to get it right. So I've committed to doing

07:15that, taking the time to get it right. It is time to step up, regroup and rebuild for the Australian people.

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