Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has spent the week in discussion with various community leaders. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has spent the past week engaged in “listening visits” with community and business leaders in a bid to learn what the Liberal Party must do if it is to recover from its disastrous federal election result.
Stressing that Coalition policy remains under review, Ms Ley acknowledged the party’s failures of the last term and the policy positions that lost votes.
“I said when I became leader that we would stand by our values, look at the future through our values, work incredibly hard for the Australian people as we fix our policies going forward,” she said following a women’s leadership forum on Thursday (10 July).
“That is absolutely vital. We fix our policies going forward through the prism of our values …
“So we have a great deal of work to do and that’s what we have committed to doing – working very, very hard every single day for the Australian people.
“This was another very valuable moment in the listening that I have committed to doing as leader and that I know the team around me is doing every single day…
“A lot of policies are being raised and it’s important that in this listening phase, I remind people that our policies are under review and that’s important, because we got smashed at the last election and we need to examine those policies.
“We need to review them – shadow ministers will be doing that work – and then we need to continue to consult, to engage and most importantly, to listen everywhere we go.
“Where we demonstrate listening, we get very well received.”
On the issue of women, the Opposition Leader has reached out more than any of her predecessors.
She has promised to do more to shape the Coalition into a party that attracts women voters as well as candidates for parliamentary seats.
“We are listening, we do need to hear the stories from Australian women, but in particular, I know that women … are struggling with that balance of child care, of the work life, balance of looking after older parents but managing with young children, of trying to pay the mortgage and trying to pay the bills,” she said.
“I’ve lived that life, I know what it feels like. I know what the struggle is when you feel like you have to do so much, but you can’t achieve it all and women often take that burden on the caring responsibilities, the responsibilities in the home.
“The statistics tell us that it is still women who are doing all of those things and that’s why we need women’s policies and that will be very prominent in the policy development that we undertake to, as I say, meet women where they are.”
Earlier in the week, Ms Ley met with members of the Jewish community and expressed distress at hearing stories of “the rising tide of antisemitism” in Australia.
Describing the increase in hate crimes against the Jewish community as “unacceptable”, the Opposition Leader said her visit was about “solidarity” and “important next steps” to take.
“What is so clear is that hate can never be normalised. It can never be excused. It can never be explained away,” she said.
“We stand with the Jewish community in Australia today and every day. We won’t look away.
“We will be here to see this through. It’s very important with these events that we don’t just come today and say the things that we’d be expected to say and then walk away.
“We will never do that. We never have done that.”
The week began with a discussion with Chinese community leaders and an admission the Coalition turned many of their voters off over the last term and in particular during the election campaign.
“Today was a very frank discussion. It needed to be,” Ms Ley said following Monday’s meeting.
“We didn’t get everything right at the last election and I made it clear that I wanted a valuable, ongoing conversation.
“But overwhelmingly, we celebrated the people-to-people connections that have built the Australian Chinese community in this country and the relationships that we hold dear.”
