Ley Defends Leadership as Liberal Senator Declares Party in Crisis
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Opposition leader Sussan Ley insisted her Liberal Party team was “absolutely united” Friday afternoon, hours after Victorian senator Sarah Henderson publicly declared she could not support “the way things are” in a direct challenge to Ley’s leadership ahead of a critical energy policy meeting.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Ley declined to address Henderson’s comments, saying she would not “comment on commentary” as the party prepares for a Wednesday meeting where members will vote on an energy and emissions reduction policy that has exposed deep divisions within the coalition.
“The only thing I care about is working hard for the Australian people and I lead a team, a very proud team that represents the values,” Ley said when asked if her days as leader were numbered.
Henderson told Sky News AM Agenda earlier Friday she believed Ley was losing support within the party. When pressed on whether she could back Ley as leader, Henderson replied: “Pete, I am just going to say at the moment that I cannot support the way things are.”
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Asked directly if she was supporting Ley’s position as leader, Henderson said: “Well, I can’t back in the way things are, Pete, and I’ve got to be authentic and I’ve got to be honest about that. And it’s very difficult. It’s a very difficult time for the Liberal Party.”
The public fracture comes as the Liberal Party faces mounting pressure to finalize its position on climate policy, with Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan saying he hopes to announce a policy “Sunday week,” roughly 10 days away. Tehan stepped out of the Liberal Party Federal Council meeting in Canberra Friday to defend Ley’s leadership.
“Look, absolutely,” Tehan told Sky News AM Agenda when asked if he could back the current situation. “We began a process which was all about making sure that we got our policies right.”
Ley acknowledged the challenge ahead, telling reporters the party room meeting Wednesday would be “a very important moment” for the party. She said the working group led by Tehan “has completed its work and it’s ready to present to our Liberal Party.”
“I know that there will be a really important discussion in the room at that time,” Ley said. “But I also know this, that every single one of my Liberal Party colleagues walking into our party room on Wednesday will know the disaster that is this Labor government’s energy policy and how Labor’s net zero is failing Australians.”
Ley emphasized she made clear when she became leader six months ago that “every single member of my party room would be enfranchised to contribute to the policy discussion about energy, and they have.”
The opposition leader refused to preview the policy direction, saying she would not “presuppose the outcome of that meeting.” But she outlined two core principles: “That we have a stable, reliable grid to provide affordable energy for households and businesses, and that we do play our part internationally in reducing emissions just as we should.”
Tehan repeatedly declined to confirm whether the Liberal Party would abandon its net zero emissions target, a move that would align the party more closely with the National Party’s position and potentially ease coalition tensions.
“Look, I’m working through with my colleagues where we need to go and what we need to do,” Tehan said. “And as I’ve said all along, the job that I’ve got is to make sure I hear and listen, not only from all our colleagues, but also from industry.”
The shadow energy minister described developing the policy as “a bit like threading a needle, but I think we can get there.”
Both Ley and Tehan attacked the government’s energy record, citing identical statistics on electricity price increases. “40% increase in power prices,” Ley said. “Manufacturing across this country being absolutely crushed. Smelters looking for bailouts.”
Tehan used the same figure, saying: “Electricity prices up 40 per cent. Sadly, industry is closing and emissions flatlining. It’s a complete and utter abject failure.”
Ley described the government’s approach as leaving “no made in Australia, Prime Minister. There’s just a big bailout of so many of our important industries that we rely on for the future national interest and national income of this country.”
When asked about Henderson’s comments, Ley said: “I value every single member of my team, including the good senator that you’ve just mentioned. In order to interrogate her views, you should probably ask her. I’m not commenting on commentary.”
She insisted her team was “absolutely united behind the focus that we have right now, which is to hold this Labor government to account for an energy policy that is destructive of households, businesses and indeed harming the economy.”
Tehan took a similar approach when asked whether Henderson’s morning comments were helpful. “Look, colleagues have been saying things right throughout this debate, and my job has been to focus on the policy, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” he said.
The shadow energy minister thanked “all the colleagues, both Liberal Party and National Party” for “the respectful way that you’ve engaged in this process.”
Tehan said the policy development process has involved extensive consultation with industry stakeholders. “The job that I’ve got is to make sure I hear and listen, not only from all our colleagues, but also from industry, what’s happening there, from the big energy retailers, right across the energy sector,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of maintaining coalition unity, noting that Liberal and National party working groups have met “every time the Parliament has sat since the last election.”
“One of the things that when I set about with embarking on this process was that I knew immediately, and I think Sussan and David knew immediately, that not only do we have to take our distinct processes in place, put them in place, but also we had to work together as part of that as well,” Tehan said.
The shadow minister defended his own electoral challenges in the seat of Wannan, where he faced strong competition from a teal-style independent at the last election. “I’ve got Portland aluminium, which is incredibly important to my electorate in terms of jobs and the export income that it earns for the state of Victoria and the state of our nation,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure that our number one priority is cheap and affordable energy. That has to be our number one priority, otherwise we cannot compete internationally,” Tehan said. “But they also want to see us doing our bit when it comes to emissions reduction. So that’s the other part that we’ve got to make sure that we get right. And that’s the Balancing Act.”
Ley outlined a broader policy agenda beyond energy, saying she has talked about “fiscal discipline, managing the budget” to avoid “reckless spending that is heading this country towards $1.2 trillion of debt and spending $50,000 a minute on interest.”
She also committed to “delivering substantial personal income tax cuts by the next election, because we believe in aspiration, reward for effort, and that Australians who take risks and have a crack and want to get ahead deserve to keep more of what they earn.”
The opposition leader said she has also discussed “lowering our migration in a sensible way.”
Tehan noted the party’s political trajectory over the past year. “This time 12 months ago, we were ahead in the polls and things went terribly wrong between now and May,” he said, referring to the election loss that brought Ley to the leadership.
The Federal Council meeting in Canberra featured “a lot of interesting people in our policy development process,” Tehan said, describing “really good conversations” taking place. He said the party has been focused on policy development for six months since the election loss.
“Sussan rightly identified at the end, well, after the last election, that we had to get better at getting policy development done and making sure that we could put policies that will resonate with the Australian people to them at the next election,” Tehan said.
The shadow minister said a meeting Friday week ago was “very constructive” with colleagues putting forward their views. “The take out of that meeting was there is so much that unites us on this front,” he said.
Wednesday’s party room meeting will give Liberal MPs another opportunity to express their positions before Tehan attempts to finalize a joint policy with the National Party. The stakes extend beyond policy to Ley’s leadership itself, as Henderson’s public comments signal potential broader discontent within the party ranks.
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