Federal Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley begins WA tour in Geraldton as Liberals seek to rehabilitate image

Federal Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says the Liberal Party knows it needs to win back the trust of West Australian voters, as she began her week-long tour of WA in Geraldton.

On her visit, the shadow minister for industry and training also raised her concerns about the future of the Oakajee project and a lack of training in regional WA.

Ms Ley’s visit to WA comes after Labor’s swing in WA in the 2022 election, which played a major role in ending the Coalition’s nine years in Government.

“We didn’t win the support or meet the expectations of Australians at the last election, which why we’re no longer the government and we need to have an honest conversation about what they would like to see and how we can regain their trust,” Ms Ley said.

“I’m here listening, I’m here learning and understanding.”

One area where the Liberals know they need to improve is in representing women and addressing their concerns, Ms Ley said.

The shadow minister for women said housing and shelter was a key issue for women in regional towns such as Geraldton.

“There are older women, maybe 50s and 60s who have a family break up, they don’t have superannuation … and don’t have a home, they’re joining the ranks of our homeless faster than any other group,” she said.

Ms Ley said the Liberals, and their Nationals partners, were the side which listened to regional Australian perspectives.

However she did not say if she had spoken to locals in Geraldton about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

With the Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area progressing, Ms Ley said it was a good idea to pivot to hydrogen but was concerned the Mid West did not have the electrical infrastructure to support it.

“We recognise that hydrogen is part of our renewable energy future,” she said.

“However, the main responsibility of the State Government is to have an electricity grid that supports manufacturing and the future manufacturing, the future needs of this region ... as I understand it, it’s straining at the seams” she said.

On training, Ms Ley said there’s “not enough” available in regional WA, and there needs to be more support for industry-led training.

“Unless you have an equal investment in industry-led training, you don’t actually meet the training needs of the sector,” she said.

Bunbury, Perth, Fremantle and Albany are also on Ms Ley’s itinerary this week.