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Opposition leader Sussan Ley at NextGen Skills Training Campus in Forrestfield.

WA NewsCommentsPremiumSussan Ley ‘agnostic’ on gender quotas for Liberals

The Federal Opposition says she is ‘agnostic’ on how her party recoups its standing with women in Western Australia, stopping short of backing gender quotas.

Oliver Lane

WA Liberal leader Basil Zempilas and Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley.

state politicsCommentsPremiumNew Liberal leaders fire their first shot at AUKUS deadline

They arguably have the two toughest jobs in Australian politics right now, but Sussan Ley and Basil Zempilas were keen to join forces against a common enemy and warned that WA is moving too slow on AUKUS.

Jessica Page

It’s about the WA economy stupid! Illustration: Don Lindsay

opinion
opinion
Sussan LeyComments
opinion
How WA is key to boosting productivity in Australia

Western Australia is not just vital to our national economy, it is the engine room of Australia’s prosperity.

Sussan Ley

Federal Opposition leader Sussan Ley will meet with Basil Zempilas in Perth on Monday.

LiberalCommentsPremiumLiberal leaders to discuss why WA has turned back on party

Sussan Ley will meet with Basil Zempilas in Perth on Monday for fresh talks as Liberals digest why West Australians have turned their backs on the once-strong party.

Joe Spagnolo

The Liberal Party's Sussan Ley and Michaelia Cash with Curtin candidate Tom White in Scarborough today.

Federal PoliticsCommentsWA Liberals reluctant on idea of gender quotas

The WA Liberal Party is resisting implementing quotas for recruiting more women, as insiders insist the approach it took over the past three years worked at recent elections.

Katina Curtis

Liberal MPs will meet on Friday to set up structures to develop policies in other areas, with Ms Ley saying it was imperative they act like the alternative government they were.

Federal PoliticsCommentsLiberals enter their Ley era as leader eyes adding women

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has set herself apart from Peter Dutton’s leadership and vowed to be a ‘zealot’ about recruiting more women into Liberal Party ranks.

Katina Curtis

Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley.

Federal PoliticsComments‘Smashed’ Liberals look to aspiration and modern Australia

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will concede the Liberals got ‘smashed’ at the May election and lay out the areas she want her party to focus on over the next three years as it rebuilds.

Katina Curtis

Nationals leader David Littleproud says the Coalition is likely to get back together again after ‘encouraging’ talks with Liberal counterpart Sussan Ley.

FEDERAL POLITICSCommentsNats to re-sign Coalition deal after ‘encouraging’ Ley talks

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has signalled a Coalition deal could be soon struck after ‘very encouraging’ discussions with new Liberal leader Sussan Ley. 

Caitlyn Rintoul

Sussan Ley has been elected Liberal leader in the wake of the party’s May 3 defeat.

opinion
opinion
Richard WilsonCommentsPremium
opinion
We already know the Liberal’s problems so let’s fix them

On Saturday morning, the Liberal Party’s State Council will meet for the first time since its historic Federal election loss three weeks ago. It will vote to formally authorise a post-election review.

Richard Wilson

“In the 2022 election, the Liberal Party lost the female vote across all age groups, including to teal candidates in affluent, traditionally conservative electorates.” says Lanna Hill.

opinion
opinion
Lanna HillComments
opinion
‘Arrogant’ Liberals have been ignoring voters for decades

I believe the loss of the Liberals came down to a fundamental failure and lack of desire to understand and connect with their audience.

Lanna Hill

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley at Parliament House in Canberra.

opinion
opinion
Basil ZempilasComments
opinion
Ley’s appointment as leader a strong step in right direction

The reset at a national level is on - and it’s started at the top.

Basil Zempilas

“I’d be foolish to say I don’t have a desire to lead, I do have a desire to lead,” said Andrew Hastie.

federal politicsCommentsAmbitious Hastie has ‘desire to lead’ Liberals but not yet

Andrew Hastie has confessed he has a desire to lead the Liberal party in future, only hours after Sussan Ley won a party room vote to become Opposition Leader.

Jessica Page

Harvey explains how three unusual jobs Sussan Ley had before politics qualified her to survive the political Hunger Games and become the federal Liberal party’s first female leader.

opinion
opinion
Up LateVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
Up Late: Not your cookie cutter Liberal candidate

Ben Harvey explains how three unusual jobs Sussan Ley had before politics qualified her to survive the political Hunger Games and become the federal Liberal party’s first female leader.

Ben Harvey | Tue, May 13

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley at Parliament House in Canberra.

analysis
analysis
Katina CurtisPremium
analysis
History-making Liberal leader has a monumental task ahead

New leader Sussan Ley makes history as the first woman to lead the Liberal Party, but that is almost secondary to the monumental task ahead of her to rebuild from the worst loss in its 80-year history.

Katina Curtis

Angus Taylor lost out to Sussan Ley for the Liberal Party leradership.

LiberalCommentsSussan Ley becomes first female Federal Liberal leader

The new Opposition leader has made history after defeating Angus Taylor in a party room ballot in Canberra this morning.

Katina Curtis

“In WA, where the Liberal presence has withered to near-irrelevance, we need more than messaging tweaks.” says Richard Wilson.

opinion
opinion
Richard Wilson
opinion
Richard Wilson: Liberals must win back the middle class

In WA, where the Liberal presence has withered to near-irrelevance, we need a fundamental reconnection with middle Australia’s personal circumstances, beginning with five underlying truths.

Richard Wilson

Voting intentions put Angus Taylor as the front runner to become the next leader of the Liberal Party.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Election 2025Comments
The West Australian exclusive
Liberal Party leadership ballot voting intentions revealed

A tally of voting intentions circulating among Liberal MPs calculates the shadow treasurer ahead of Sussan Ley. This is how the votes are currently stacked.

Aaron Patrick

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Angus Taylor.

Federal PoliticsCommentsTaylor, Price step up as joint ticket for Lib leadership

Angus Taylor and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have announced themselves as a joint ticket for the Liberal Party leadership ahead of what is expected to be a tight contest to steer the opposition as it rebuilds.

Katina Curtis

Peter Dutton at the function centre for the 2025 Federal Election, at The W Hotel, Brisbane, Saturday, May 3, 2025.

FEDERAL ELECTION 2025 CommentsPremiumInside the Libs’ disastrous election campaign to win back WA

Near the middle of last month, Liberals thought they had a masterstroke to galvanise support for Peter Dutton while he was campaigning in WA. Instead, it all went horribly wrong.

Joe Spagnolo

Sussan Ley said it was clear that Australians expected a change in direction from the Liberal Party.

Federal PoliticsCommentsLiberal leadership fallout engulfs Nationals party room

The fallout from Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s defection from the Nationals to Liberals has thrown both coalition parties into chaos and made the contest for opposition leader murkier.

Katina Curtis

Peter Dutton arrives in Canberra.

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
The one thing the Libs got right

When Dutton took over as leader in 2022, many feared he was ‘un-electable’.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton concedes defeat during a Liberal Party election night event at W Hotel on May 03, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
Who will lead Liberals out of the dark?

The Liberals have been left a rabble. The result has exposed the folly of the party for not properly examining the reasons why it lost the 2022 election. It glanced inward and carried on.

Labor’s Tom French (left) has won the seat of Moore. Pictured next to him is Scarborough MLA Stuart Aubrey, as they watch Peter Dutton deliver his concession speech on screen.

Shock Upset PremiumTom le triomphante: French delivers Labor victory in Moore

In a result few predicted, Labor has gained the seat of Moore, ending decades of Liberal dominance in the northern Perth electorate.

Liam Murphy

Liberal incumbent for O’Connor Rick Wilson cast his vote at the York Street pre-polling booth on Friday.

Federal election 2025PremiumLabor silent as Libs and Nationals put up fight

Liberal incumbent Rick Wilson’s whirlwind tour of his 1.1 million sqkm electorate over a dense five-week Federal campaign has outshone his rivals, with the Nationals putting up a fight and Labor going silent.

Melissa Sheil