E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2026

TOPICS: LIBERAL LEADERSHIP; ANGUS TAYLOR

JOURNALIST: Are you feeling sorry for Sussan Ley this morning?

TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Look, this saga has been running longer than Home and Away, and it is really important for the country that it's sorted out. The National Party were focused on their leadership on the National Day of Mourning, the Liberals were focused on their leadership at Katie Allen's funeral. It's not good for the country to have this sort of uncertainty. It's a matter for them who their leader is. Looks like they’re leaning towards Angus Taylor. I mean, he's the bloke that as Shadow Treasurer actually went to the last election promising higher taxes and higher deficits. He's the bloke that's cost them their economic credibility. He hid 22% energy price increases. He released dodgy documents around Clover Moore's travel. There's the Jam Land scandal. There's the dodgy water buybacks. He even said that he lived up the road from Naomi Wolf when he absolutely didn't. So it looks to me like in the modern Liberal Party, an incompetent bloke beats a woman any day of the week, and the only real qualification for leadership is XY chromosomes. Thank you.

ENDS