Sussan Ley’s backers are urging her to demand Angus Taylor blast her out by presenting a signed petition of 26 MPs to prove he has the numbers to roll her.
Confirming she won’t resign and is digging in, the party’s first female leader is expected to face a challenge from Mr Taylor by the end of the week.
That’s likely to trigger a wave of mass resignations as MPs loyal to Mr Taylor walk the plank to bury Sussan Ley.
But a mystery booklet prepared by the late Liberal MP Kevin Andrews on how to run a leadership spill has been cited by her critics as proof that it won’t be required.
The only problem is, even the Liberal Party secretariat doesn’t have a copy. As such, moderates have raised concerns over whether the document is legitimate.
The document, obtained by news.com.au, states the following rules for a challenge.
“Two or more members of the Parliamentary Liberal Party may ask for a spill of the position of the Leader or Deputy Leader or both by sending their request in writing to the Leader,’’ it states.
“Upon receipt of such a request for a spill of the leadership position(s), the Leader asks the Chief Whip to convene a meeting to resolve the question.
A rule book cited by late MP Kevin Andrews lis at the centre of how a spill might happen. Picture: NewsWire / David Crosling
“Such a meeting is held as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt of the request.
“The question is not debated at the meeting. The question is resolved by a secret ballot conducted by the Chief Whip.
“A simple majority of members and senators present is required for the motion to spill the leadership position(s) to pass.
“If the spill motion is passed, a ballot for the leadership position(s) is conducted immediately in accordance with the election convention (above).”
In other words, a signed petition prior to a spill is not required, according to conservatives backing Angus Taylor.
The mysterious leadership spill rulebook prepared by late Liberal MP Kevin Andrews that has surfaced during the Sussan Ley crisis. Even the party secretariat doesn’t have a copy.
The document obtained by news.com.au that states no signed petition is required for a leadership challenge. Moderates have raised concerns over whether it’s legitimate.
Petition demand
But Sussan Ley’s supporters want her to consider forcing Mr Taylor to blast her out.
If he wants to challenge, they say he should be forced to get MPs to sign on a petition which will “name names” as opposed to a secret ballot in the party room.
“If you want this, put your name to it and get it over with,” Liberal senator Maria Kovacic said.
“If we’re going to have change, and we’re going to fix things, and we’re going to allow Australians to trust us again, we need to be open and clear about who we are, and we need to have those individuals be very transparent about why it is that they want a spill.
“We’ve all had enough of what’s been going on over the past couple of months,” she said.
Conservative Liberal MP Jonno Duniam, an Andrew Hastie supporter, said that Mr Taylor needed to declare.
“If Angus is interested in, as many are speculating, the leadership, then he should say so,” Mr Duniam said.
In relation to the Andrews document several MPs claim that the conservatives claimed they didn’t have in May when rules for leadership ballot were being sought – to verify if Gisele Kapterian was eligible.
“In the end, (Liberal Party director Andrew Hirst) made the call based on convention because ‘no one’ had the rules. Until now, no one has seen it.”
Angus Taylor MP and Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley during question time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Taxpayers foot bill for spill
Taxpayers face a bill of thousands of dollars if Mr Taylor challenges Ms Ley for the leadership, with 51 MPs and senators and their staff set to claim a travel and meals allowance of up to $500 a day.
The Remuneration Tribunal has determined a $322 nightly travel allowance for 2026, a modest increase from the 2024 rate of $318.
Where the Commonwealth pays for the accommodation of a minister, travel allowance for meals and incidental costs up to a limit of $223 per day is available.
That means 51 MPs and senators and their staff could be eligible for $500 if they are forced to remain in Canberra for a spill.
“Why should the taxpayer front up for additional accommodation or flights for people to return to or stay in Canberra if they actually don’t have numbers for the spill?’’ a backer of Ms Ley said.
“They could’ve done it last Tuesday with no additional cost to the taxpayer. Or the next party room with no additional cost to the taxpayer.”
Sussan Ley is under pressure. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
‘Disunity is death’
Behind closed doors, Sussan Ley slapped down Liberal MP Jane Hume in the party room on Tuesday, warning her that “disunity is death”.
As speculation mounts that Mr Taylor will resign from the frontbench to launch a leadership challenge to roll the party’s first female leader, female Liberal MPs are being rolled out to lead the attacks on Ms Ley.
The latest clash occurred after Senator Hume rose in the party room to ask Ms Ley what she was doing to stop a Liberal Party wipe-out at the next election.
“(Sussan Ley) said focus on policy and stop the disunity. It was a slap down,” a Liberal MP said.
“The whole room was silent. It was very strange behaviour (by Ms Hume).”
It follows speculation that Senator Hume could emerge as deputy to Mr Taylor, a prospect some MPs regard as unlikely.
“I can’t imagine she’d win a ballot for deputy. Or even come close.’’ the MP said.
However, another Liberal MP said the reaction was “pathetic.”
“Sussan challenged Jane yesterday to raise her concerns in the party room.
“Her delivery of a one-line sentence (response) was frankly pathetic.
“The stunned silence in the room was incredulity that a leader on such thin ice would fail to address the herd of elephants in the room, not that Jane was out of line.”
Liberal Senator Jane Hume holds a doorstop press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
‘Political assassination’ warning
However, Liberal frontbencher Andrew Wallace warned dumping Ms Ley would be remembered as a “political assassination”.
“Sussan Ley is our elected leader. She is the first woman leader of the Liberal Party and were she to be deposed, I can almost guarantee you there’ll be people out there saying, ‘oh … you guys have just politically assassinated the first female leader of the Liberal Party’,” he said.
‘The boys were out to get her’
A senior Liberal said this week that Ms Ley had been undermined from the start, with women believing “the boys were out to get her”.
Former NSW premier Kerry Anne Chikarovski said white-anting began from day one.
“I will be incredibly disappointed if they do,” she said of a possible leadership spill.
“I understand how difficult it is for Sussan in terms of the polling.
“But on the weekend I had women coming up to me, expressing to me their absolute concern that Sussan has never been given a real chance.
“Saying to me things like, ‘oh my god the boys were out to her from the moment she got it.’
“I think that’s a very strong feeling, particularly among female members of the community.”
“They need to look at themselves in the mirror. Why is this happening?”
“The look of this, constantly undermining and then getting rid of the first female leader — it’s not a good look, on any level.
“I don’t know how we in the Liberal Party can ever get those women back.”
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