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Angus Taylor has set his sights on tackling the cost of living and curbing immigration in his first speech as the newly appointed Opposition Leader, following the dismissal of Sussan Ley, the first female to hold the position.
The leadership change within the Liberal Party was decided during a special meeting on Friday morning, culminating in a leadership spill.
Taylor emerged victorious with a decisive majority, securing 34 votes against 17.
In the race for deputy leader, Jane Hume achieved a comfortable win, garnering 30 votes to Ted O’Brien’s 20, with Dan Tehan also in the running. One member abstained from voting.
Speaking on Friday afternoon, Taylor emphasized that his immediate focus is on improving Australia’s living standards, which he claims have “deteriorated under a failing Labor government.”
“They do not know how to manage this economy, [the] result is Australians are getting poorer, their standard of living [is] going backwards — not just in absolute terms, but relative to peer countries around the world,” he told reporters.
“This has been an economic disaster [for] Australians. The second [priority] is “protecting our way of life”.
Taylor was also asked by reporters about what the Liberals’ immigration policy will be.
“It is clear that numbers have been too high and standards have been too low. And our policy will be for lower numbers and for higher standards,” he said.
“But, crucially … our policy will also be about putting Australians first and putting Australian values first. We want people who come to this country to believe in our core values: in democracy, in the rule of law, in our basic freedoms.”
Ley’s expresses gratitude
Wearing a brave smile, Sussan Ley announced her intention to leave parliament, triggering a by-election in her NSW electorate of Farrer.
“I look forward to stepping away completely and comprehensively from public life, to spend time with my family,” she said.
“I want to express gratitude to the Liberal Party that I have belonged to and loved for more than half of my adult life, to the party room that elected me as their leader nine months ago.”
After 25 years on Capitol Hill, she said there were “genuinely no hard feelings” as she wished Taylor well. She walked out of the courtyard to applause.
Not all Liberals are happy with the result. Former Liberal senator Hollie Hughes pointed out Taylor’s track record of shifting positions on several issues, including renewable energy, net zero and taxation.
“The way that Sussan was undermined from day one, if I was Angus I’d be thinking ‘well I wonder if I’m going to get the same loyalty or support that I showed to Sussan’,” she told ABC Breakfast.
Hume has been vocal about the failures of the Liberal Party since she was demoted to the backbench after the May 2025 election, in part due to her role in developing a policy scrapping working from home for public servants.
After she claimed “Chinese spies” were working for the Labor Party during the 2025 election campaign, the government repeatedly argued the Liberal Party didn’t support the Australian Chinese community.
‘Zero credibility’: Chalmers reacts to Taylor’s win
Treasurer Jim Chalmers was quick to highlight Taylor opposed Labor’s lowering of taxes at last year’s federal election.
“Angus Taylor was the most shambolic shadow treasurer in Australia’s history and now he’s leader of the Liberals,” he said in a statement.
“Angus has zero credibility on the economy and neither does the bin fire that is the Coalition.”
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