Australian news and politics live: Leadership spill confirmed, Sussan Ley, Angus Taylor to go head-to-head

Liberal Senator James McGrath has been the latest to resign from Sussan Ley’s shadow ministry, as leadership aspirant Angus Taylor tightens his run for the top gig.

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Senator McGrath said while he realised “this news won’t please everyone” he insisted it was in the best interest of the party to mount a “strong and effective Opposition”.

“I have made this decision as I believe it is in the best interest of Queensland, Australia and the Liberal National Party,” he said.

“I want to acknowledge the service of Sussan Ley as Leader of the Opposition, and I want to thank her for the privilege of serving in the Shadow Cabinet.

“We must take the fight to Labor and I have made this decision with that at the forefront.”

All Liberals concede that things have to change. Drastically. And soon.

The impulse among most Liberals is to return to Howardism.

That’s utterly understandable. John Howard is the party’s most successful leader of the past 50 years.

But as they now re-examine “Howard’s way” the Liberals should also study an equally successful template from the progressive side of politics — that of Tony Blair in England.

Blair took a mouldy, moribund Labour Party base and re-energised into a fresh and attractive electoral product by adding one small word that had an immense impact: New.

That is the opportunity today for the Liberal Party. It can jettison its present into the past and rebrand itself as something different and fresh: the New Liberals.

Read Mark Riley’s full opinion here.

Liberal O’Connor MP Rick Wilson has swapped seats during Question Time to allow Angus Taylor to sit in his chair in the House of Representatives.

Wilson’s seat on the backbench provides a more direct line of sight behind Sussan Ley, one which is potentially easier for photographers to capture.

It comes after Mr Taylor resigned from the frontbench on Wednesday night as he prepares to challenge Ms Ley for the leadership of the party after dire polling.

Mr Taylor and supporting colleagues, such as Phillip Thompson and Ben Small, appeared glued to their phones throughout the Question Time.

It could be Ms Ley’s last at the dispatch box as Opposition Leader, with a partyroom challenge expected on Friday.

The Prime Minister has torn into Liberal leadership rival Angus Taylor, accusing him of having no clear policy difference and just acting “on a vibe” to axe Sussan Ley.

“We have seen that with the extraordinary launch of a leadership campaign that did not have a single new policy idea. It was just the vibe,” Anthony Albanese mocked, during Question Time on Thursday.

“They are obsessed with cutting each other down. They can’t stand each other, Mr Speaker.

“They love fighting but they never fight for Australia, they just fight each other.”

It comes as Mr Taylor is building numbers to challenge Ms Ley in a partyroom meeting after dire polling.

Liberal leadership aspirant Angus Taylor has delivered a 90-second statement in the House of Representatives attacking Labor’s economic record.

He said Australian families were doing it tough and were struggling to buy a home and start a business, saying many no longer felt like they were in the lucky country.

“Last week’s RBA decision confirmed what Australian families already know. There is no light at the end of the tunnel under Labor,” he said.

“It’s too hard to buy a home, it’s too hard to start a business, it’s too hard to start a family, and it is too hard to access basic services.

“The cost of everything going up and up and up. The basic promise that if you work hard and you do the right thing, you’ll get ahead, seems broken and our economy has hit a speed limit, and it’s painfully slow.

“Now our Liberal priority must be to protect our way of life and restore our standard of living that has been trashed under Labor.

“That’s our mission because both are under assault under Labor.

“Every day Australians are making hard choices because this government, this Prime Minister, has failed to make those choices, failed to make those choices. Labor is failing. Australians and Australians deserve better.

“We need less government, less spending, less taxes, less regulation, less regulators. Australians need change, and Australia is worth fighting.”

Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg says a challenge to Sussan Ley’s leadership is unreasonable nine months in.

He said a leader should be given a year to prove themselves and at least to put out some policies and give a Budget reply speech.

“I think most Australians will look at it and say, ‘well, this person hasn’t even been given a year in the job’,” Mr Bragg told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

“I think it is an entirely reasonable proposition that you be given a year to show you can do the job, put out some policies.

“Put out some policies on migration, to put out policies on housing, small business, more stuff on cutting redtape.

“I think these are all reasonable things. And then do a budget reply.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has focused on violence against women in her Closing The Gap speech, saying it was a “devastating” issue that “needs urgent attention” and urged Australia to “confront reality”.

“The prevalence of violence against Indigenous women is devastatingly higher, with around one-third of intimate partner homicides involving Indigenous women,” she said.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 27 times more likely than other Australian women to be hospitalised due to family violence.

“As I have said, while we continue to support the primary violence-prevention efforts led by bipartisan, intergenerational campaigns, we must also confront reality.

“And the reality is this: there is more to be done to address risk factors, to support men to change, and to ensure the justice system operates to keep women safe.”

In a deeply personal speech at the National Press Club in June — just weeks after taking the helm as the Liberals’ first female leader — Ms Ley revealed she had experienced domestic violence in the form of coercive control.

Ms Ley had vowed she “understands the pain” domestic violence causes families.

The group fighting Australia’s under 16s social media ban have released a timeline for their High Court challenge.

Advocacy group Digital Freedom Project launched a campaign in November, with two 15-year-olds, Macy Neyland and Noah Jones, listed as the plaintiffs.

In a statement, the group said they planned to serve the Commonwealth with a draft special case and any material proposed to be annexed to it by next Friday.

A defence is expected by March 27, before the plaintiffs file and serve any agreed special case by April 24. The matter will then be listed for further directions on April 28.

Sussan Ley has delivered her Closing The Gap address to Parliament, in her first public appearance since Liberal frontbencher Angus Taylor handed in his resignation and announced he would challenge for leadership.

The Opposition Leader said it was a time for the nation to come together in a “shared commitment to do better” and deliver “sustained action”.

“The Closing the Gap framework was intended to be one such commitment — a practical expression of our responsibility to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have the same life opportunities as every other Australian.

“The report outlines the Albanese Government’s response to a deeply concerning picture.

“While there has been progress in a small number of targets, only four are on track and indeed four have gone backwards.

“Outcomes in health, education, housing, justice and economic participation continue to fall short of what any of us should accept.”

“These are not abstract statistics. They represent lives shaped by disrupted schooling, unsafe housing, and contact with systems that too often intervene late rather than support early.”

Anthony Albanese has used his Closing The Gap address in Parliament to highlight the “racism and hatred behind” the Perth Invasion Day rally bomb scare.

A 31-year-old man has been accused of making and throwing the homemade bomb at a crowd of thousands on January 26, which is being investigated as terrorist act.

He was charged with “engaging in a terrorist act”, which marked the first such charge in WA’s history.

“I know that since the alleged terrorist attack in Perth, many of you have been providing comfort to people grappling with shock and fear,” the PM said on Thursday.

“People imagining how much worse things could have been.

“I want to reaffirm what I said here last week, on behalf of the Government and the people of Australia. We see you. We stand with you.

“The danger of that alleged attack was real – and so was the racism and hatred behind it, motivated by a white supremacy ideology.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the right to gather and express their views, without fear of violence.

“More than that, you have the right to a full and equal place in our nation and our future.

“Unburdened by discrimination or disadvantage. Empowered by opportunity and security. That is the test – and the purpose – of Closing the Gap.”