Ley's Liberals
As she takes over a demoralised Liberal party after a dismal defeat, new leader Sussan Ley has an opportunity to build a more ambitious economic agenda.
Labor’s landslide election win has boosted hopes that the Albanese government will spend its political capital on a serious economic reform agenda. But could the Liberals have so little of it that they’re also now ready to take some risks?
That is the challenge — or opportunity — facing new Liberal leader Sussan Ley, the first woman to occupy that role and the first female opposition leader in Australian history.
“I believe it is core business of the Liberal Party to be working on economic [and] tax policy,” Ley told reporters in Parliament House shortly after she was voted in. “We do need a new economic narrative going forward that seeks answers from Australians about how we can best support them with policies [that help them get] ahead.”
The Liberal Party desperately needs a new economic agenda. Over the past three years it has focused its attacks on the government over the cost of living, blaming Labor for high interest rates and rising energy prices. Angus Taylor, who narrowly missed out on becoming the next Liberal leader today, helped lead this charge.
