Liberal opposition leader Sussan Ley pays tribute to late mother
Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley has paid tribute to her mother, Angela Braybrooks, who died during the early hours of Saturday.
"My family and I feel this loss deeply," Ms Ley said in a statement.
Ms Braybrooks's death comes just days after Ms Ley was appointed leader of the Liberal Party following a tight partyroom ballot on Tuesday.
The former deputy leader defeated conservative rival Angus Taylor, receiving 29 votes to his 25.
Ms Ley said her mother played a role in her recent success within the Liberal Party.
"Growing up in wartime Britain, Angela could never have dreamed that her daughter would become Australia's first female Leader of the Opposition, but because of her, that happened this week," she said.
Ms Ley said it was a "gift of fate" that they were able to spend Mother's Day together before she ventured to Canberra.
"On Monday night in Canberra, our parish priest organised a FaceTime call, telling Angela she had to 'hang on' to see one more special moment in her daughter's life," she said.
"If she could do that, he promised her, 'We'll have champagne tomorrow'."
After her victory, Ms Ley drove back to Albury, along the New South Wales-Victoria border, to be by her mother's bedside.
"Whilst mum was no longer verbal, she watched every moment of my press conference," she said.
"As I walked back into her room that afternoon, her eyes lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will treasure, forever."
Ms Ley has thanked the community for their support and kind words.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Last resort': Scott Morrison backs US attack on Iranian nuclear sites
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backed US President Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities as 'a last resort', urging Australia to now speak with clarity about why the US had to act. Describing the bombing as 'a necessary event', Mr Morrison stressed that the United States had launched a targeted mission and was not proposing regime change. Speaking on Sky News, he said it reflected the fact the US was the only ally of Israel with the military hardware to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear bunkers. 'There were no other options available to the President,'' Mr Morrison said. 'I think President Trump has been very clear about seeking to get an agreement with Iran. 'This was completely rejected, and made it very clear that there was no negotiation now there was the opportunity for complete capitulation and that was not offered, and they are the only military in the world that is capable of doing what it has just done, and that is what has happened.' But in a barbed observation on the conduct of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong he urged Australia to now speak with 'clarity.' 'Well, it's time for some clarity. I think there's been far too much ambiguity about this from Australia, far too much ambiguity,'' he said. 'And it's time for clarity. And the clarity is we were dealing with a theocratic authoritarian state that sponsored an attack on a close friend in Israel back on October 7. 'They have shown their true colours. And Iran is not a friend of Australia. It's not a friend of Australia's interests. This is not a conflict not with the people of Iran who are wonderful people.' Mr Morrison said that President Trump would have been a reluctant convert to involving the US military in the conflict. 'The President came to office with a peace through strength doctrine, and we have now seen what that means when all other avenues fail,'' Mr Morrison said. 'This is a President that I think doesn't wish to rush to these outcomes or to use these capabilities, but if necessary will. And as a result, a massive blow has been struck against Iran's nuclear capability. 'This is not something that I believe he wants to see widened, but this hopefully resolves that question of their nuclear capability, which is something that has been sought for a very long time.' The big issue to understand Mr Morrison said was that only the US had the capability to drop a bomb that could target Iran's underground nuclear bunker. 'I think obviously, if Israel had been capable of doing this, then, then that would have been the preferred option, no question other than to evolve, you know, the direct defensive capability of the United States, that would not have been a preferred option, as I said, it became the necessary option,'' he said. 'Now Israel will make its own decisions about how it continues to prosecute its conflict with Iran, the US has played, I think, a very specific role here which only they could have, only they could have done. I think that needs to be underlined. That was the only reason I believe that this would have drawn the US directly into this.' Mr Morrison said it was not about 'regime change' in Iran. 'This is not the place that President Trump would rather be. He has not rushed towards this and further. This is not about the US trying to oppose some sort of regime change,'' he said.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Thousands of Victorian businesses to receive payroll tax relief next month
Tens of thousands of Victorian businesses are expected to pay less in tax, with payroll tax changes to be introduced next month. The change will see the payroll tax-free threshold rise from $900,000 to $1 million on July 1. Premier Jacinta Allan said it was expected that 28,000 businesses would be paying less, with an additional 6,000 businesses now exempt from the tax altogether. The changes to payroll tax have been earmarked since 2023, with the government raising the threshold first from $750,000 to $900,000 in July last year. The move comes amid forecasts of record high levels of debt, with the premier conceding there would be some recalculations required. "Yes, this does require an adjustment to our budget and our revenue, but this is an investment in business and jobs and growth," Ms Allan said. Payroll tax was projected to form the biggest source of revenue for the government in the 2025/26 financial year. Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said the affected businesses would save up to $14,500 each. "That has obviously been something that we've factored in over the forwards [projections]," Ms Symes said. Along with the changes to payroll tax, the government will also cut red tape in the planning system. On July 1, the government will scrap the requirement for businesses to apply for planning permits for liquor licensing. Business Wodonga chief executive Graham Jenkin said the permanent changes to licensing requirements had been expected for months but it would be great for regional restaurants and cafes. "This is great because Victoria really has more red tape than any other state government in in Australia, so anything that can reduce red tape which is an obstacle to doing business," Mr Jenkin said. "Business owners don't want to be spending all of their time doing reports." But Mr Jenkin said any changes to payroll tax would make no difference to small businesses who were still recovering from COVID. He said a further range of targeted measures needed to be implemented to help those who were running small-to-medium businesses in Victoria. "A lot of very small businesses will of course see no benefit from it," he said. "It could be a subsidy of council rates, [it] could be less of the Victorian emergency services and volunteers fund levy that small businesses will be forced to pay." Mr Jenkin said more training and development workshops in regional areas and more work in mental health for business owners struggling financially were also essential.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Manipulative': Expert slams states on sluggish shark net stance
A Sydney shark expert has gone to town on the NSW and Queensland governments, accusing them of manipulating public perception in an effort to drum up support for shark nets and saying none of the available scientific evidence points to them being effective. Shark nets across NSW beaches are taken in annually from mid-autumn to mid-spring, however the NSW government is conducting a review to determine shark mitigation measures for the 2025-26 summer, including support from local councils on the continued use of shark nets. Speaking to NewsWire, The University of Sydney associate professor and shark behaviour expert Christopher Pepin-Neff said he believed two simple premises lay at the heart of the issue; firstly, that shark nets catch fish (Sutherland Shire council reported a 13 times differential between non-target animals caught in nets compared with the targeted eight species of sharks), and secondly, that in getting caught, those fish struggle and die and attract sharks. 'Shark nets attract sharks,' he said. 'There is no way that science exists everywhere in the ocean except on netted beaches in NSW or Queensland. 'That the vibrations that struggling fish make attract sharks everywhere in the ocean except when they get caught in a net at a netted beach in Australia. 'If science still applies, then we have to conclude that shark nets attract sharks to local beaches.' The decision to use shark nets is left to the state government, and during the 2024-25 season, 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong used shark nets. Professor Pepin-Neff said his principal objection to shark nets was that 'they are used by politicians when it is convenient for them to protect themselves by providing a false sense of security to the public'. 'Politicians know that the public has an idea that shark nets work and they are manipulating that public perception for their own benefit,' he said. 'It's a disgrace that in 2025, politicians have not come clean about the fact that shark nets and a lot of beach safety measures are mythical. 'For me, this is not an environmental issue; it is an issue of integrity in the policy process and respect for local constituents across Australia.' The office of NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty declined to respond to NewsWire's request for comment; however Professor Pepin-Neff, received a letter from the Department of Primary Industries (DPIE) saying 'in 2024/25 the DPIE consulted the 25 coastal councils about their preferences for shark mitigation at beaches within their local government area'. 'The NSW government is currently considering the feedback from the councils as well as the evidence from the technologies used over the 2024/25 summer period to help inform the upcoming season,' the DPIE continued. The Sutherland Shire in Sydney was one of the last councils in NSW to oppose the use of shark nets on its beaches. When the state government surveyed local councils in late 2024, councillors were presented with options and evidence for the various shark mitigation technologies. Sutherland Shire councillor Kal Glaznig voted against the use of shark nets and speaking to NewsWire said 'just based on the evidence that was presented it was pretty clear that they're not the most effective tools to keep people safe'. 'I feel like it's a big education piece for beachgoers. The thing around shark nets and why there's a bit of hesitancy to take them out is this perceived safety, which from what I saw scientifically, there's no argument for,' he said. 'People in our community aren't getting in the ocean or not getting in the ocean because they feel like they're being saved with nets.' Mr Glaznig said he couldn't speak for everyone, but during the council deliberation he didn't have a single constituent reaching out to say 'keep the nets in' but was instead inundated with community members who spent large amounts of time in the ocean saying they didn't believe the nets should be in. 'A lot of the evidence for me is around the fact that these nets have been here since 1937,' Mr Glaznig said. 'And I feel like if we just relied on existing measures for everything in life from nearly 100 years ago, we would be so backwards and behind. 'The ocean is such an unknown and you're never going to be able to control the elements, but you can definitely use better technologies and fuller solutions.' 
 'My take for the state government is for them to hopefully listen to what the councils who are on the ground with the community are saying because ultimately we are more accessible than state ministers in getting the response and the feel from the community. 'And our community in the Sutherland shire is telling us that they don't want shark nets and the experts that presented made it super clear that shark nets were not the most effective way to keep people safe.'
