Newly appointed Liberal leader Sussan Ley has vowed to bring a "competitive policy offering" to the next federal election as she sets out to rebuild the party after its historic defeat.
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Ms Ley became the Liberal Party's first female leader after defeating former shadow treasurer Angus Taylor in the race for leadership by just four votes.
"I am humbled, I am honoured and I am up for the job," Ms Ley said.
The Liberal Party caucus voted on their new leader at a meeting in Parliament House on Tuesday morning.
It was a close contest, with Ms Ley picking up 29 votes to Mr Taylor's 25.
Fronting the media on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Ley acknowledged the party had disappointed some voters and said it would learn from its mistakes.
"They were disappointed and they felt let down and we understand that and we must learn from that and we must take the time to get it right," she said.
"It is time to step up, regroup and rebuild for the Australian people."
Queensland MP Ted O'Brien was elected deputy leader on a much safer margin of 38 votes to 16, against Phillip Thompson.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price withdrew her candidacy for deputy leader after it was clear Mr Taylor would not become leader.
Mr Taylor released a statement congratulating Ms Ley on her success in the ballot.
"Sussan has led a remarkable life and becoming the first woman to lead the Liberal Party is a milestone for Sussan and our party," he said.
He said serving as shadow treasurer for the past three years had been one of the greatest honours of his time in public life.
Ms Ley described Mr Taylor as an "intelligent, talented contributor" and said he would play an integral role in the party moving forward.
Mr Taylor is unlikely to continue as shadow treasurer when Ms Ley announces her shadow ministry.
Ms Ley has served as the member for Farrer in the House of Representatives since 2001.
At the 2025 election, Ms Ley won the seat on a 6 per cent margin, based on a two-candidate preferred count against her independent counterpart.
It was a closer contest than in 2022, when she held the seat on a 16 per cent margin against a Labor candidate.
Ley the best person to help Liberals rebuild, MP says
Queensland MP Andrew Wallace was one of the few Liberal Party members to address the media outside the party room, following the leadership vote.
He said Ms Ley was an "exceptional parliamentarian" who could help rebuild the Liberal Party.
"Sussan is a woman with 24 years' experience in this place and I think nothing beats experience in this place," he said.
Mr Wallace was asked whether the decision to vote in the first female leader was to send a message to voters about the party's future.
"If you're asking me if that was the sole reason, absolutely not. We have to appoint people on merit and the party room decided that Sussan was the best person to take us forward," he said.
Mr Wallace said his party needed to understand what attracted so many voters to independent "teal" candidates over the Liberals at the election.
"We do absolutely need a very, very detailed examination of what went wrong and how do we fix it," he said.
A pilot and former Canberran
Prior to politics, Ms Ley lived in Canberra as a teenager while her father worked for the Australian Federal Police.
She attended Campbell High School in the late 1970s before completing years 11 and 12 at Dickson College.
In an interview published on a NSW government website, Ms Ley said she hated high school.
"I tried as hard as possible to remove my English accent. School was hell. It was like I was waiting to leave school to be the person I always was," she said.
In the same interview, Ms Ley said things improved at Dickson College, where the laid-back, independent teaching style was the "perfect learning environment" for her.
After high school, Ms Ley took up flying lessons and got her commercial pilot's licence at the age of 20.
Ms Ley purchased a small plane in late 2024 and said she hoped to fly it to and from Canberra for sitting weeks.
The Liberal MP will use the four-seater plane to travel more frequently across her large NSW electorate of Farrer, which includes cities such as Griffith and Albury.
"At 126,500 square kilometres, Farrer is one of the largest electorates in the country and around the same size as Greece, Bangladesh or Nepal," the spokesman for the Deputy Opposition Leader said.
The new Liberal leader has previously acknowledged her strong belief in numerology. During her 20s added an "s" to her name, changing it from Susan to Sussan.
