Liberal Leader’s Allies Vow Support amid Leadership Change ‘Frenzy’

Allies of embattled Opposition Leader Sussan Ley have declared their unwavering support for her remaining in the top job as speculation about her future ramps up.

Opposition immigration spokesman and moderate Paul Scarr said he has thrown his “100 percent support” behind Ley and backed her handling of the vote on contentious hate crime legislation, which passed with Liberal support.

“Sussan has demonstrated, since becoming leader, how she’s been able to navigate some very, very difficult issues,” he told ABC Radio on Jan. 27.

“People tend to be referring to the risks arising from the legislation, but there was risk in not passing that legislation, so I think Sussan behaved very responsibly.”

Parliament passed laws allowing for the outlawing of hate groups and increasing penalties for hate speech in response to the Dec. 14 Bondi terror attack.

The legislation ultimately triggered the coalition’s break-up after MPs from the Nationals broke with the Liberals in voting against the laws.

Liberal frontbencher Angus Taylor and now-backbencher Andrew Hastie are angling to replace Ley.

While sources have told AAP a spill is likely to be called when parliament returns in the first week of February, the opposition leader has refused to bow to the pressure.

Senator Scarr said he had not been contacted by Taylor or Hastie to run the numbers for a potential leadership tilt.

He repeated a line from Ley, stating that rumours about her leadership were just part of a “frenzy of speculation in the media.”

“At the moment there is no announced challenge. There is no announced intention to seek a spill,” Scarr said.

Addressing reporters on Australia Day in Corowa, Ley said she was “absolutely not” of the belief that her leadership was over.

But Taylor wouldn’t rule out taking a tilt at the leadership when politicians returned to Canberra.

“The Liberal Party has got a lot of work to do,” he said.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson also threw his support behind Ley, saying the party did not “want tantrums like we’ve seen from the National Party.”

“What people want to see is leadership,” he told Sky News.

“I always support the leader, we’ve got to make sure that whatever it is, we’re united behind the team.”