Thank you for the warm welcome.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet today.
I would also like to acknowledge my many colleagues in the room. We have enormous talent in our Shadow Cabinet, the wider Shadow Ministry, and in both Coalition party rooms.
Today will be my first address as Federal Leader of the Liberal Party to the National Press Club and it will not be my last.
With many freedoms under assault around the world, I appreciate and understand the important role our media plays in protecting the robust democracy we have in Australia.
Sometimes we will agree and sometimes we will disagree, but so long as you hold both the Government and the Opposition to account, then our democracy and freedoms will be well served.
About a kilometre down the road is a red brick high school called Campbell High.
If you ventured there nearly five decades back, you’d find a shy, young student with a British accent – Susan Braybrooks.
If you had told that girl then, that she would be standing here now, she wouldn’t have believed you.
No one told her she could rise to a position of political leadership.
Like many Australians she never considered running for public office.
She did have dreams but they involved steering planes, not steering the government.
It’s the beginning of my story, a very Australian story, and today, amongst other important matters, I want to share some of that story with you.
It is a story of both opportunity and of failure. Of joy and heartbreak.
It is a journey that has shaped who I am today, and the type of Leader I will be.
It is an enormous source of pride that in this country, any Australian, from any walk of life, can make a contribution to our national story.
A country where a young migrant at Campbell High can seize the endless opportunities made available in Australia: to serve in the Federal Parliament, sit in the Federal Cabinet, and become Leader of the Federal Liberal Party.
In recent weeks, a lot has been made of the fact that I am the first woman elected to lead the Liberal Party of Australia, and the first woman Leader of the Opposition.
Whilst this sends a strong signal that we are taking a fresh approach and doing things differently, I am not here today to speak about milestones or firsts.
I am here to talk about the important work we are going to do over the next three years to rebuild trust with Australians so we are worthy of their support at the next election.
Aspiration is the thread that connects every single part of Australian society.
Aspiration is the foundation of the Australian promise: that if you work hard, play by the rules, do your best for your kids and contribute to your community, you will be able to build a better life for yourself and your family.
That promise feels distant for many Australians today.
Cost of living is rising, wages are stagnant and home ownership is out of reach.
Australians work hard, but too often feel like they're running harder just to stand still.
For too many Australians, it is a promise that seems almost unachievable.
The Liberal Party must restore that promise.
To empower Australians to make decisions that are right for them.
To reward effort, not punish success.
To ensure the government backs its citizens, not burdens them.
That is the Australia I believe in.
My focus will always be on helping those aspirational Australians.
As we seek to regain trust with all voters across our great country, the task before me – and my team – is to lead a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, reflects modern Australia and represents modern Australia.
My story and journey to Parliament
My journey here is not one of privilege.
It is a story of work, struggle, persistence and belief in the country that gave me and my family a chance.
I was born in Nigeria to British parents.
My parents lived busy lives. The first lesson they instilled in me growing up was that your ‘job’ was about more than just clocking ‘on’ and clocking ‘off’.
It was about having a vocation. Something that made the world a better place or made a difference in society.
My dad worked in military intelligence and his mission was peace and security.
I would jump in the Land Rover with him after school as he sped between caves in the hills and backstreet dives, speaking loudly in Arabic to his contacts. Even as a child, I instinctively sensed how important this work was.
My mum found her true calling as a mental health nurse, helping people and minds to heal.
Looking back I am amazed that she was able to have a full time job, with a long commute, and was still able to be home each evening to sort the house out. It was a different time with different expectations. Somehow, she always managed to be there for the people she cared for – in her family and in her work.
Between graduating from school and becoming, as I described myself, a farmer’s wife, I worked my share of tough jobs: cleaner, waitress, short order cook, rouseabout – and outback pilot.
I was not taken seriously in pilot training. I was nearly always the only woman in the group. The privileged boys, whose parents bankrolled their lessons, attracted more street cred than me.
I lived in a bedsit under the bridge in Queanbeyan and my clothes were from Vinnies because every dollar I made went towards flying lessons.
One male instructor said, “why are you doing this? You’re no good at it.”
I wasn’t to begin with – but that’s not the point.
I was told I couldn’t get a crop-dusting rating because the chemicals would damage my unborn children. I was yelled at, hit on, and then ignored.
In my early twenties, I was working as an air traffic controller at Sydney Airport.
I wanted to pursue something different. I wanted to actually fly.
I advertised my recently acquired skills as an aerial mustering pilot in rural newspapers across the country. I had three phone calls. A wealthy grazier said “Can you cook? What sort of plane do you want?” A machinery dealer asked if I was single and mentioned vague “extra curricular” activities.
And then I finally got the call.
A gruff voice barked down the phone, “how quickly can you get to Thargomindah?”
“I’ll be there in 48 hours," I said.
I packed up my flat in Coogee and drove 1,700km in my much loved 1969 HT Holden, to the back country.
As I turned west at Cunnamulla for the 250 kilometre stretch to Thargo, it hit me: working three jobs, earning my pilots licence and staying true to my dream had brought me here.
And I was so bloody grateful for the gift of opportunity in this incredible country.
I arrived at my new employer's door at 6pm on a Sunday. He later told me he looked at this young girl and thought, “even if you can actually fly a plane, you’ll never last.”
Weeks later as he dozed in the passenger seat of the plane, I woke him up to say the lights at the airport wouldn’t come on and we didn't have enough fuel to go elsewhere.
So we’d be landing in the dark.
As I lined up for what I hoped was the threshold of Runway 13 at Thargomindah airport,I observed that there is nothing as black as an outback night.
He didn't see the funny side.
But as we landed safely and got out of the plane he looked over at the anxious welcoming party and said, “this girl’s got guts, she sure can fly.”
Where airline bosses didn't want me in the left hand seat of a corporate jet, the boys in the blue singlets jumped into the back of my bush aircraft without hesitation.
They trusted me. And I trusted them.
I soon found myself working in the shearing sheds. Picking up 800 fleeces a day, cooking for a team of twenty, on wood stoves in high summer, with kerosene fridges and pit toilets. I learnt the value of a hard day’s manual labor, often in the scorching heat of western Queensland. This experience is one I’m proud of, but it would be unremarkable to the many Australians who get out of bed early, roll up their sleeves and work the long hours.
Later, while raising three children, I studied, worked, and built a new career.
It was far from easy.
I remember earthmoving equipment coming in to dig a large hole to dispose of our sheep.
The government’s economic mismanagement meant there was no market for them.
My job was to move the sheep up the race to be shot.
It was a very difficult time for me and my family.
Between high interest rates, the wool floor price collapse and all the other challenges of running a business with too many expenses and too little cash flow – we struggled. Those days will never leave me. Those days – and the lasting connections made – are why I understand just how tough life is for so many people on the land.
Balancing the family budget was becoming too hard, so I made a decision so many mums have made before and have since: get new skills to bring in extra income.
As I raised my own family, I went to university for the first time, aged 30.
I still remember the day I walked in to enrol in a Bachelor of Economics at La Trobe University in Wodonga.
I kept thinking, can I really do this?
I got out of the battered farm ute, baby in a capsule and felt so out of place.
I was a different generation from these students who didn't seem to have a care in the world. I felt like an outsider.
I remember being suffocated by self-doubt.
There I stood, the mature aged student with a crying baby, convinced I did not belong here.
I mumbled something about ‘this not being right for me’ and went to leave.
That’s when Dr Julie Jackson popped out of a lecture theatre, took one look at me, picked up the baby capsule and said “you look like you need help with that – come on in!”
Her simple human act gave me the confidence to stay the course. That path led me to where I am today.
It is a story of women supporting women, yes, but it is also a story of the barriers that stand in front of parents with young kids.
Because if I didn’t have that car, or that baby capsule, I might never have enrolled in the first place.
Thanks to that support, over the next ten years I obtained a Bachelor of Economics, a Master of Taxation Law, and a Master of Accounting.
These were not just academic pursuits, they were part of my commitment to understanding how our economy functions and how we can better manage public money.
Before entering Parliament, I worked at the Australian Tax Office.
That role gave me a first-hand understanding of how our tax system works and often, how it doesn’t.
It reinforced my view that economic management must be responsible, practical and always focused on delivering value to the taxpayer.
It also reinforced something I learned as the child of an intelligence officer: a deep and abiding respect for the public service. That is part of my story too.
Whether it was my time working in an office, on the land, or in the air, I have lived the reality that many Australians live every day.
I have juggled work, caring and parenting.
Worried about not being able to pay the bills.
… relied on neighbours.
… been unsure what the next year might hold.
And that matters.
Because it’s from that life experience that I understand what government can do and what it can’t do.
I have always believed that the best governments create opportunity, not dependency.
The best governments have a belief in people more than just programs.
The best governments don’t try to run every person’s life, rather they focus on getting the fundamentals right so that every person can achieve their best.
The verdict of the Australian People
As leader of the Federal Liberal Party, I will always be honest and upfront with the Australian people.
So, let’s be honest and up front about last month’s election.
We didn’t just lose. We got smashed.
Totally smashed.
What we as the Liberal Party presented to the Australian people was comprehensively rejected.
The scale of that defeat – its size and significance – is not lost on me, nor on any one of my parliamentary team sitting here today.
It was devastating for our parliamentary colleagues, party members, supporters and voters across the country.
I want to thank all 150 Coalition candidates who ran at the election. I want to particularly acknowledge my many friends who served in the Parliament with distinction, who have not returned this term.
Over two elections, the Coalition has lost 33 seats in the House of Representatives.
We’ve lost 8 seats in the Senate.
Our primary vote has fallen by more than 9 per cent in the House.
Our two-party preferred vote is down more than 6 per cent.
And now we hold just 2 of 43 inner metro seats, and 7 of 45 outer metro seats.
These numbers reflect a deep and growing disconnect.
We respect the election outcome with humility.
We accept it with contrition.
And we must learn from it with conviction.
I have never taken representing the people of Farrer for granted.
It’s been the greatest professional privilege of my life.
In the last two terms of Parliament, I have delivered a billion dollars in funding to the electorate.
But I acknowledge that last month, like colleagues around the rest of the country, I received a message in Farrer too.
And to them I want to say this: I have never been more determined to serve you than I am today.
The people of Farrer are not an afterthought in my leadership.
They are the foundation of my leadership.
One of my great mentors, former Prime Minister John Howard often said about elections that “the Australian people always get it right” – and I agree with him.
The Australian people need a strong and effective alternative to vote for at the next election.
Our first step is to listen, so we properly understand how we can improve.
Last week we appointed The Hon Pru Goward AO and The Hon Nick Minchin AO to conduct a root and branch review of the election result.
Both are eminent Australians, widely respected for their distinguished service across a broad spectrum of public life.
Never has a review been so important for the Federal Liberal Party.
Pru brings a deep expertise from her extensive work in government, human rights, social policy and the media.
Nick has had a long and successful career in government, politics, campaigns, diplomacy, and finance.
Their review will be frank and fearless, ensuring a thorough and honest assessment of what went wrong and how we can fix it.
It will look at the election campaign and also the period leading up to it.
It will look at the performance of the Liberal Party – the Federal Secretariat, the State and Territory Divisions, and the Parliamentary team.
As a Federal Executive, we have tasked the review with looking at the Liberal Party’s performance across the country and among all voter groups, including multicultural communities, women and youth and in urban and regional areas.
They’ll also look at the way we conduct our research, policy development and how we communicate to Australians.
The review will conclude by the end of the year and it will be made public.
We can do better and we will do better.
Can I say to those Australians who voted for us: thank you.
To those who did not: we hear you and recognise we did not meet your expectations.
We will do the hard work to regain your trust, and earn your support, in three years time.
A Liberal Party that reflects Modern Australia
But as important as the election review is, it’s clear that the issues confronting our great Liberal movement go deeper.
That is why our federal executive will soon discuss a more broad ranging and wider review process of the fundamentals of the Liberal Party.
I believe there is a need for the Party as a whole to have a deeper look at the existential issues we face, how our divisional constitutions operate and how we can better serve, support and most importantly grow our membership.
This will not be an academic exercise. My Parliamentary team and I will stay in close touch with our State and Territory Divisions to ensure success in this important area.
Senator James McGrath will play an integral role in bringing this longer term body of work together.
It will be a crucial part of our efforts to better respect, reflect and represent modern Australia.
In times of crisis, there is always talk of returning to our foundations, often in the context of Sir Robert Menzies.
The party Menzies founded was not only for women, it was built by them.
It was women’s groups, women’s voices, and women’s energy that helped shape the Liberal Party.
The Australian Women’s National League, as well as many other prominent women’s organisations, were central to the formation of our Party.
We must be a Liberal Party that is proudly for women and made up of women.
Our Party must preselect more women in winnable seats so that we see more Liberal women in Federal Parliament.
Now, I'm agnostic on specific methods to make it happen, but I am a zealot that it does actually happen.
Current approaches have clearly not worked, so I am
open to any approach that will.
The Liberal Party operates as a federated model, meaning each State Division determines its own preselection rules.
If some state divisions choose to implement quotas, that is fine.
If others don't, that is also fine.
But what is not fine is not having enough women.
As the first woman leader of our Federal Party, let me send the clearest possible message: we need to do better, recruit better, retain better and support better.
That is why I will work with every Division, as will my Parliamentary team, to ensure we preselect more women for the 2028 Election.
When I say the Liberal Party must respect, reflect and represent modern Australia, people have understandably asked: what do we mean by that?
Modern Australia is diverse, dynamic and ambitious.
It is made up of people from every corner of the world.
It is families raising children in the suburbs.
It is young people building careers, renting whilst chasing the home ownership dream, and studying for futures that look very different to the past.
It is older Australians who helped build this country, who still have so much wisdom to offer, with a strong stake in our nation’s future.
It is professionals, small business owners, community volunteers, entrepreneurs and everyday workers who deserve to be recognised, not overlooked.
Modern Australia is not just one story.
It’s all of them.
And our party must be big enough to represent that shared experience.
Fixing our policies: A real process of reform
One of the clearest messages from the election was that Australians want better answers from us.
We are the alternative government, and we must act like it.
The Liberal Party is at its best when we focus on building aspiration in our country – that thread which connects every part of Australian society.
We are at our best when we focus on making government better, not bigger.
When we argue for lower taxes, not higher.
And when we talk about policies to create more opportunity, instead of just criticising Labor for creating less.
I do not take the responsibility of being Leader of the Opposition lightly. My leadership will be inclusive, consultative and collaborative.
Over the next two days, we will meet as a Shadow Ministry, as a Shadow Cabinet and as a Liberal party room.
The party room meeting will not be about debating or determining individual policies.
It will be our first formal opportunity to discuss the 2025 Election and the Goward-Minchin Review.
It will also be an administrative party meeting focused on discussing structures and frameworks for new policy development processes.
This will be an initial meeting on these matters and further work will follow.
I want to empower all MPs and Senators in my party room – from the leadership group to the backbench – to contribute to the development of our Party’s next policy platform.
As I have often said, our policies are up for review, but our values are not.
Our policy development process will be iterative and continuous.
It will evolve throughout the term in response to internal and external feedback, emerging issues, and ongoing engagement with the community.
As part of that policy development process, we will establish a dedicated Coalition working group on ‘Energy and Emissions Reduction’ policy.
This group will work directly to me and David Littleproud.
It will be led by the Shadow Minister Dan Tehan, and involve the Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien, Susan McDonald in Resources, Alex Hawke in Industry, Angie Bell in Environment and Shadow Assistant Ministers Dean Smith and Andrew Willcox.
Over the course of this term, our task will be to develop a plan underpinned by two goals:
- Having a stable energy grid which provides affordable and reliable power for Australian households and businesses, and
- Reducing emissions so that we are playing our part in the global effort.
Every single member of both Coalition party rooms will have the opportunity to engage with, and be part of, this work.
Our approach must be practical and principled as we address both these goals.
In the last term of Parliament, as the Shadow Minister for Small Business and Industry, I couldn’t walk into a small business, or onto a factory floor, without hearing about a crippling power price increase taking them to the brink.
The Government has made a lot of promises on both energy and on emissions reduction.
They were just elected with a very substantial majority. It is now on them to explain how they will realise the targets they have committed to, and the promises they have made – on both.
We will hold them to account on these issues at every turn, because families and businesses around the country are depending on their governments to get energy policy right.
Our aim is to ensure the Liberal Party’s future policy offering connects with voters across the country.
Our party must look and sound and feel like the country it seeks to represent.
That starts with strong economic management.
A tax system that restores the Liberal party, fairly and squarely - as the party of lower taxes.
A society which supports strong families and communities.
An economy that provides dignity and security to aging Australians.
Housing that is attainable, especially for young people.
Communities where everyone, especially women, feel more than safe – but empowered.
A country that works alongside Indigenous Australians, in dignity, opportunity and mutual respect.
And a health system that helps prevent illness as well as treats it.
We’re going to listen, stand by our values, fix our policies, and work hard every single day for the Australian people.
We will be constructive when the government has a good idea.
And critical when they have a bad one.
But we will always act through the prism of the national interest.
That is what the Australian people deserve and that is what they will get under my leadership.
The tests of leadership
I am clear-eyed about the task before my team and I.
My leadership will not be measured by headlines, nor the polling of the day.
It will be judged, by the Australian people, on whether at the next Federal election, the Liberal Party presents a serious, credible and compelling agenda for change.
An agenda that meets modern Australia where they are and restores trust in our ability to govern.
A policy offering that tackles the economic, technological and social challenges Australia now faces.
That addresses the big questions: how to grow the economy, lift productivity, build more homes for younger Australians, tackle cost of living, help people keep more of what they earn and restore confidence in our institutions.
So, judge me on whether Australians in every corner of the country can see a future in the Liberal Party.
Whether a young woman in her first job, a couple starting a family, a small business owner putting everything on the line, or a migrant family working hard to get ahead, can all say at the next election, “that’s a party that is here for me and the things I believe in .”
That is how I will measure success.
A stronger Australia in an uncertain world
Now is also a time for clear eyes and honest conversations on national security and defence.
As the Government's own Defence Strategic Review makes clear, this will be a decade defined by global uncertainty and strategic competition.
The public version of that document says this and I quote:
“Strategic warning time for conventional conflict is the time a country estimates an adversary would need to launch a major attack against it.
“In the post-Second World War period, Australia was protected by its geography and the limited ability of other nations in the region to project power.”
“In the contemporary strategic era, we cannot rely on geography or warning time.” End quote.
This means according to the Prime Minister’s own expert advice, Australia must be ready for the prospect of conflict.
The Defence Strategic Review called for, quote “an urgent call to action, including higher levels of military preparedness and accelerated capability development.”
So I ask, are we as prepared as we need to be?
And are we seeing straight talk from this government?
Earlier this year all Australians saw the reports of the Chinese Communist Party’s Navy ships circumnavigating Australia.
We see China as an important partner and seek respectful engagement with the Chinese Government – and its people.
But that respect must go both ways.
The way this circumnavigation occurred was not respectful. We called it out at the time and we would do so again.
I want Australia and China to have a good relationship.
When it comes to our two great countries, there is much to be optimistic about.
I was part of the Abbott Government Cabinet that signed the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
Our two nations have a shared history which is rich with incredible people-to-people links. It is those connections which should define this relationship.
But we have to be clear eyed about our region and the world we live in too.
The Defence Strategic Review was delivered more than two years ago.
And global instability has only worsened since then.
Look at how much further it has deteriorated, even since last month’s election.
Look at how much has changed in the past week alone.
Last night, I was briefed by national security officials on the unfolding situation in the Middle East.
And I want to thank the ADF personnel and public servants who have been working tirelessly to support Australians leave the Middle East.
These developments underscore the need for Australia to step up our commitment to defence.
Across the world autocratic countries are spending more on military capabilities.
Many of our trusted allies are responding by matching urgent rhetoric with urgent action.
I do not believe the Prime Minister has levelled with the Australian people.
Anthony Albanese’s response has been anything but urgent.
He refuses to match the Coalition's ambition for defence spending to reach 3 percent of GDP and the capability that would support.
Australia must meet this moment of uncertainty with confidence, strength and honesty.
On my watch the Liberal Party will have the honest conversations we need to, not to frighten or scare, but to level with Australians about the choices that must be made.
We also need to defend the rules-based order which has underpinned our prosperity.
As the world writes the rules of technologies like artificial intelligence and the new norms of space, it’s in Australia's interest that countries with a commitment to human rights and liberal values be the ones holding the pen.
That is why now is the time for Australia to step up, not step back.
We have to build on alliances like AUKUS, the Quad and our Five Eyes partnership.
The first step must be an increase in defence spending with a focus on key capabilities, including space, drones and missiles.
And we need a proper strategy to arrest declining recruitment numbers in the ADF.
All Australians deserve a chance to live the Australian dream, whether they were born here or migrated – as I did.
Migrants and our newest citizens deserve the full protection and full opportunity of a life in Australia and the Coalition will always put in place the resources to give them that security.
Standing up for women and children
There are some national challenges where governments haven’t done enough, where as Australians we need to step in and step up.
And leadership means facing uncomfortable truths with honesty, strength and purpose.
As Liberals we will always stand up for women and children.
The Liberal Party I lead will work constructively on our country’s greatest national shame – family and domestic violence.
One in two women has experienced sexual harassment in their life time.
From the age of 15, one in three women has experienced violence and one in six have experienced physical or sexual abuse.
Last term I stood in the Parliament, and I read out the names of women who lost their lives in just one year.
These women are not just statistics.
They are mothers.
… Daughters
… Friends
They had hopes and dreams … that they will now never realise.
I want the women of Australia to hear me when I say to them as a national leader:
- I understand the fear you feel when you go for a walk alone. Because I have felt that fear too.
- I understand the pain that comes with coercion and control. Because I have felt that pain too.
- I understand what it is like when you blame yourself for the actions of others. Because I have blamed myself too.
I will take this perspective to every decision I make.
I will never let domestic and family violence fall down the list of priorities.
We need new approaches, stronger partnerships, greater resources, and absolute resolve.
We need men's groups to step up too because men’s health policy is women’s safety policy.
The scale of loss Australia is seeing from domestic and family violence is unacceptable.
Another area that demands stronger government intervention is the protection of our children from devices and technology.
The rise of digital technology and social media has changed the world and unlocked so much potential.
But in opening those doors, strangers have unfortunately been let into the lives of our kids.
We have allowed some of the smartest people in the world to make billions of dollars by peddling addictive technology to our children.
And it is shortening their childhoods.
Parents need government in their corner to fight this fight.
We are seeing AI technology commoditise our kids and deep fakes ruin the lives of women.
Prime Minister – when it comes to standing up for women and children, I am ready to work with you. I invite you to accept my invitation in good faith.
Conclusion: rebuilding trust, community by community
Now, as important as the Press Club is – and it is – rebuilding the Liberal Party will not happen in here. It will happen in communities across Australia.
We have to reconnect.
With nurses and teachers.
With tradies and shopkeepers.
With young professionals.
With multicultural communities.
With renters and people with mortgages.
I want Australia to once again be a country where girls like Susan Braybrooks can dream their biggest dreams. And achieve them.
A country where effort is rewarded and families are supported.
Where government is there to help, not get in the way.
Because today, many people don’t see Australia as that country.
Our job is to offer a new agenda.
A new agenda that builds aspiration and rewards aspiration.
If we do that, we can once again be that country.
Under my leadership, we will respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia.
Thank you.