SYDNEY — Former Energy Minister Angus Taylor has been elected as the new leader of Australia’s opposition Liberal Party, replacing Sussan Ley, as conservatives aim to rebuild less than a year after their heavy defeat by the centre-left Labour Party.
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Taylor, a prominent figure in the party’s conservative wing and son of a fourth-generation sheep farmer, won the leadership ballot of Liberal MPs by 34 votes to 17. He now faces the task of reviving support for a coalition that has continued to lose ground to far-right populist Senator Pauline Hanson and her anti-immigration party, One Nation, which recent polls suggest has overtaken the Liberals in primary vote share.
Labor and Anthony Albanese are currently in panic mode over the appointment of Angus Taylor as the new Liberal leader.
One look at your X feed will tell you that, the attacks have been wild.
No more so than Malcolm Turnbull.
That’s how you know he’s the right choice.#Auspol pic.twitter.com/xHQsAn2yNA
— Ryan Dally (@Ryandally08) February 13, 2026
Addressing reporters, Taylor acknowledged the severity of the party’s situation, calling it the “worst ever” and warning that the Liberals might not survive an election held under current conditions. “The choice is simple for the Liberal Party: change or die, and I choose change,” he said.
Taylor outlined priorities including restoring living standards, tightening immigration rules, and opposing what he described as Labour government policies that are driving inflation and high interest rates. He emphasised that migrants unwilling to uphold democracy, rule of law, and basic freedoms should be prevented from migrating.
Following her leadership defeat, Ley announced she would resign from parliament, prompting a by-election in her rural New South Wales seat of Farrer, which she has held since 2001. Ley made history in May by becoming the first woman to lead the Liberals after their election rout, but her tenure lasted only 276 days, the second-shortest in party history.
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Her leadership faced growing criticism amid internal infighting and disputes with the National Party over climate action, hate speech laws, and immigration. Taylor now begins his leadership with the challenge of uniting the party and regaining voter confidence ahead of future elections.