Amid Leadership Rumors, Ley Confident in Solid Liberal Party Support

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Sussan Ley has told SBS News she is confident she has the numbers to remain as leader of the Opposition.

When asked directly in an interview with SBS News about her ability to command a majority inside the Liberal party room Ley said: “Yes”.

She went on to say the deal between the Liberals and Nationals to dump net zero and settle on a new energy policy was evidence of support for her leadership.

“The support that we all gave to this plan just yesterday was a demonstration of our unity of purpose when it comes to something that is vital for every single Australian, energy is the economy.”

Moderates Anne Ruston and Maria Kovacic, who are key supporters of Ley, have pushed back against media reports claiming a decline in backing for Ley within her faction.

The Australian newspaper had reported growing momentum among conservative and moderate MPs to pull support from Ley and back conservative Andrew Hastie, who quit the Coalition frontbench last month.

“Media reports this morning about the moderates are incorrect. We, along with an overwhelming majority of our moderate colleagues, continue to strongly support Sussan’s leadership,” a joint statement from Ruston and Kovacic said.

“This matter was resolved in the party room six months ago and Sussan will lead us strongly to the next election.”

But Ley’s decision to align with The Nationals, ditch net zero and leave the door open to future taxpayer investment in coal-fired power stations has led to rumblings among some moderates about her future.

When asked by SBS News whether she still enjoys the support of her party members, Ley chose not to engage, dismissing the issue as “commentary about commentary.”

“I’m just not going to be distracted for one single moment from my sole focus, which is talking to Australians about the need for affordable energy,” she said.

“Whatever happens inside the Canberra bubble in the commentary and speculation of some reports … I just don’t focus on that.”

Ley was elected Opposition leader with 29 votes, but 25 members of her party room voted against her.

After she secured the top job, conservative leadership aspirants appeared unlikely to challenge in the short term, particularly given she was elevated as the first woman to lead the party.

Last week, the Liberal party room assembled in Canberra to discuss the net zero emissions debate, and notably, there was no leadership challenge during the meeting.

Meanwhile, the party has announced plans to aim for annual emissions reductions, although it intends to eliminate the emission targets set by Labor’s legislation.

Ley and National Party leader David Littleproud unveiled the Coalition’s climate and energy policy on Sunday following joint party room talks, touting a platform that prioritises “affordable energy and responsible emissions reduction”.

Amid mounting internal pressure over emissions reduction targets and swirling questions over Ley’s grip on the leadership, the Liberal Party followed its junior Coalition partner last week in dropping its commitment to net zero by 2050.

The Liberals instead propose backing coal and gas projects with the aim of bringing down power bills.

At the same time, the party says it will pursue year-on-year emissions reductions, but will scrap Labor’s legislated targets.

Asked if she personally supports ditching net zero in its entirety, Ley told SBS News she was: “100 per cent committed to the plan that I’m talking about today that was signed off by our entire party room and indeed, the whole Opposition yesterday”.

Anthony Albanese has described the Opposition’s posture on climate and energy as a step backwards.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the prime minister described the new policy as “friendless” and “nonsensical”.

“They say that they want to stay in [the Paris agreement], but Paris is about the road to net zero, and you can’t backslide.”