Ley, 63, who is the Liberal Party’s first female leader, said she thought Mother’s Day on Sunday may have been the last time she saw her mum, Angela.

The mother of three, who has six grandchildren, said her mother lives in Albury close to the NSW-Victorian border.

“My mum is very sick and, on Mother’s Day, before I came up here, I called in to see her and I thought that it might be the last time that I did,” she said.

“She is in end-of-life care and this week has been tough because I’ve kept in touch with her and her medical team and my family.

“I just wanted to mention my mum this morning.”

She said after what was her first press conference as leader, she’d be heading to see her mother again.

She added that her mother grew up in wartime Britain, and said ”the values of resilience, self-reliance, and persistence that I believe I have today come from her”.

Ley represents the rural southern NSW electorate of Farrer.

She was deputy leader under Peter Dutton during the last parliamentary term.

Ley was born in Nigeria and after living in the United Arab Emirates and the UK, moved to Australia as a teenager.