Sussan Ley to meet with Basil Zempilas in Perth to discuss why West Australians have turned on Liberal Party

Federal Opposition leader Sussan Ley will meet with Basil Zempilas in Perth on Monday for fresh talks as Liberals digest why West Australians have turned their backs on the once-strong party. In her first official visit to WA since replacing Peter Dutton as Federal leader in May, Ms Ley will spend three days meeting with major mining companies, like Rio Tinto, small business owners, multicultural communities and WA civic leaders to “hear directly from West Australians about what matters to them”. After two bruising elections, the Liberals have just seven of 59 WA lower house seats and four of the State’s 16 Federal seats. “I’ve said we’re going to listen, stand by our values, fix our policies, and work hard every single day for the Australian people and that is why I am getting across to the West Coast as a priority,” Ms Ley told The Sunday Times. “I’m not so arrogant to think I have all the answers to the WA puzzle. But step one is showing up, listening, and making it clear we’re in this for the long haul.” Mr Zempilas, who returns from a family holiday in Greece this weekend, said a strong working relationship between himself and Ms Ley was “hugely important”. “I’m very much looking forward to welcoming Sussan to WA and meeting her for the first time,” he said. “There’s no doubt a strong relationship between the State and Federal leaders is hugely important.” “It is clear we are aligned when it comes to the need for the Liberal party to be more relevant to and better represent younger people and women. “I’ll be particularly interested in the leader’s view on how we get more women into our parliamentary teams.” He said AUKUS and an overhaul of Federal environmental laws would be other key topics of discussion with Ms Ley. “Duplication between State and Federal environmental approvals has to be minimised to provide certainty to the industries in WA which support the entire Australian economy,” he said. It is still unclear what Peter Dutton-led policies Ms Ley will keep in the lead-up to the next Federal poll, due in 2028. Mr Dutton famously mooted a nuclear power station for Collie — but gave no concrete detail of that plan during the ill-fated federal Election campaign. Ahead of her visit to Perth, Ms Ley said she recognised WA was an “aspirational” state. “While Jim Chalmers is sitting in Canberra organising a roundtable with unions and peak bodies, we’ll be sitting with small business owners in WA, hearing from the people who actually grow our economy,” Ms Ley said. “Western Australia is an aspirational state. Its people work hard, take risks, and help build our national wealth. They deserve a government that understands that instinctively and respects it. “Aspiration is the thread which connects every part of Australian society and that is clearly true across Western Australia. “It is a State that is made up of people who get things done and we want to support those aspirational Western Australians to get ahead and get the reward for their efforts.” Ms Ley said she believed her varied life experiences put her in good stead to “connect with West Australians”. “I was a punk in my teens, a pilot, shearers cook and a mum in my twenties, and a university student at 30,” she said. “I know that everyone takes a different path and I want to connect with West Australians on theirs.”

Sussan Ley to meet with Basil Zempilas in Perth to discuss why West Australians have turned on Liberal Party

The No. 1 source of news for every West Australian

Everyday Digital

Everyday Digital + Weekend Papers