Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley is facing the most serious threat yet to her leadership after shadow defence minister Angus Taylor resigned from the Coalition’s frontbench, a move widely seen as the opening salvo in a long-anticipated challenge.
Taylor’s departure from the shadow ministry on Wednesday has intensified speculation that he will seek to unseat Ley, the first woman to lead the Liberal Party in its 80-year history. His resignation comes amid months of poor polling, internal dissent and repeated splits within the Liberal-National Coalition that have undermined the opposition’s credibility since its crushing election defeat last year.
Although Taylor said he would “continue to serve the Liberal Party,” he made clear he no longer believed Ley was capable of leading the opposition effectively.
“We have failed to hold a bad Labor government to account,” Taylor told reporters in Canberra. “Our responsibility is to protect Australians’ way of life and focus on restoring their standard of living. I do not believe the current leadership is in a position to lead the party as it needs to be led from here.”
His remarks were interpreted by colleagues as a direct declaration of intent.
Ley narrowly defeated Taylor in a leadership contest following the Coalition’s worst-ever federal election loss, which saw the Liberals almost wiped out in Australia’s major metropolitan centres. At the time, her victory was viewed as a compromise between the party’s moderate and conservative factions, with Ley representing the more centrist wing.
But unity has proved elusive.
Since taking the helm, Ley has presided over two formal splits and reunifications of the Coalition partnership with the Nationals — an alliance that dates back to the 1940s and has traditionally underpinned conservative politics in Australia. The most recent rupture occurred just days ago, highlighting the fragility of her authority.
The January split stemmed from disagreements over hate speech legislation that Ley had advocated following the deadly Bondi Beach attack in December. The Nationals, led by David Littleproud, refused to support the proposed reforms, arguing they risked limiting free expression and alienating core conservative voters.
When announcing the initial break earlier this year, Littleproud said pointedly that his party “could not serve in a shadow cabinet under the current leadership structure,” a thinly veiled rebuke of Ley.
Though the Coalition formally reunited earlier this week, the reconciliation appears tenuous at best.
Taylor, a prominent figure from the party’s conservative faction, has long been viewed as Ley’s most likely challenger. His resignation is expected to prompt allies within the shadow cabinet to consider their own positions, potentially deepening the crisis.
According to local media reports, Taylor’s supporters are preparing to call a special meeting of the Liberal party room to move a spill motion — a procedural step that would declare all leadership positions vacant and trigger a vote.
Such a move would force Ley to either defend her leadership immediately or step aside.
For many within the party, the question is no longer whether a challenge will occur, but when.
Ley’s supporters argue that destabilising the leadership again would reinforce public perceptions of chaos and further erode voter confidence. They point to the short time she has had to rebuild the party after its electoral defeat and insist that internal warfare will only benefit Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government.
But critics counter that the Coalition’s stagnating poll numbers demonstrate the need for change.
Recent surveys have painted a bleak picture for the opposition. Several polls show the populist One Nation party — which secured just 6 per cent of the national vote at the last election — climbing into second place behind Labor, ahead of the Coalition.
Ley’s personal approval ratings have also lagged, raising concerns about her ability to reconnect with urban voters who deserted the Liberals in droves.
The party has yet to agree internally on what caused its devastating defeat. Disputes over climate and energy policy have been particularly divisive. Immediately after the election, the Coalition briefly split over its commitment to a net-zero emissions target by 2050 — a policy the Liberals ultimately abandoned under pressure from the Nationals and the party’s right wing.
The Nationals, whose base lies predominantly in rural and regional Australia, have grown increasingly wary of losing conservative voters to One Nation. Analysts suggest this fear has pushed them further to the right, complicating the Liberals’ efforts to regain support in metropolitan areas where climate policy and social moderation are more popular.
“The Coalition is trying to occupy two very different political spaces at once,” said one political analyst. “The Nationals are focused on shoring up rural conservatives, while the Liberals need to win back centrist urban seats. Those strategies don’t always align.”
For Ley, the coming days may prove decisive. If a spill motion is lodged, she will have to defend her record before colleagues who are increasingly restless.
Her backers argue she has sought to modernise the party’s image and broaden its appeal after years of factional dominance by the right. They also highlight her symbolic status as the first woman to lead the Liberals, suggesting her removal so soon after her historic elevation could damage the party’s efforts to appear inclusive.
Yet symbolism may not be enough to secure survival in a party known for swift leadership changes.
Taylor, a former treasurer and experienced campaigner, is seen by supporters as a steady hand who could unify conservatives and present a sharper critique of Labor’s economic management. Detractors, however, warn that a shift further right could entrench the Coalition’s losses in inner-city electorates.
With parliament set to resume shortly, the opposition risks entering a new session consumed by internal conflict rather than mounting a coordinated challenge to the government.
As speculation swirls and numbers are counted, the Coalition once again finds itself grappling with the same question that has haunted it since election night: what direction should Australia’s conservative movement take — and who is best placed to lead it there?
