Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley says Labor and the Greens believing Australia had become a “lefty country” is “complete rubbish”.
Ms Ley made the remarks during a speech to the NSW Liberal state council meeting on Saturday as she discussed the Coalition’s defeat at the May Federal Election.
“Two months on from the Federal Election and the Labor Party, the Greens, their supporters, their cheerleaders on Twitter, want you to believe that the Liberal Party will never form government again,” she said.
“They want you to believe that Anthony Albanese will be Prime Minister for the next 20 years.
“They want you to believe that Australia, the lucky country, has become Australia, the lefty country – it is complete rubbish.”
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The Coalition was reduced to 58 seats nationwide following the Federal Election, which saw them booted from office after nine years in power.
The Liberals lost the NSW seats of Bennelong, Reid and Robertson to Labor, and Mackellar, Wentworth and North Sydney to teal independents.
Peter Dutton took over the Liberal Party leadership from Scott Morrison in the wake of the election defeat, while Ms Ley became deputy leader after Josh Frydenberg lost his seat of Kooyong in Melbourne.
Ms Ley said Australians were “relying on us to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and stand up for them”.
“The Liberal Party has been written off before but let me assure you, under Peter Dutton’s leadership we’ve got a big three years ahead,” she said.
“Because Peter and I have a three year plan. It’s not a six year plan, it’s not a nine year plan, it’s a three year plan. And NSW is central to that plan.”
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, in his speech to the meeting, noted a lesson from the Coalition’s federal election loss in May was how the Liberal Party chooses its candidates.
He said he wanted the party to have more female and culturally diverse candidates contesting the March 2023 state election.
“One of the most important rights of our party members is the power to select candidates that represent your values. This state council made a decision for democratic reform,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Today I can announce that within two weeks we will open preselections across the state for the next election.
“As the leader of the parliamentary party, I want to see more women, I want to see more cultural diversity, I want the best talent to put their hands up for a future government in 2023.”
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