News
11 February, 2026
Developing story - Angus Taylor quits front bench sparking leadership row.
Angus Taylor, the Member for Hume has quit the shadow front bench tonight and is expected to challenge Sussan Ley as Liberal leader as soon as tomorrow.
Angus Taylor, Member for Hume, has quit the shadow front bench tonight and is expected to challenge Sussan Ley as Liberal leader as soon as tomorrow.
Taylor was the Shadow Defence Minister.
The Southern Wire sources suggest Taylor now has the numbers. In a now guaranteed challenge against Ley, Taylor would prevail by around 5 votes, a significant margin in a small party room. Ley won the ballot to be opposition leader by a whisker after the coalition's disastrous election result in May last year.
Since Ley won the role as leader of the opposition, supporters such as Hollie Hughes have left the parliament. Ley has been a sitting duck waiting for Taylor or Andrew Hastie to strike. Hastie has since ruled himself out, allowing Taylor a rails run.
In a statement to the media outside parliament tonight, Taylor argued the present situation for Australians is 'devastating', and he will push to restore the 'standard of living'.
Taylor's seat of Hume previously saw him represent many in the Wollondilly, Southern Tablelands and Southern Highlands, but after a redistribution, the seat now encompasses much of the Wollondilly, including Picton, Tahmoor, Appin, Wilton and Camden.
Should Taylor pilfer the leadership of the Liberal Party, he faces a huge task. The polls show Labor at 31%, One Nation at 27%, and the Liberal/National coalition at 18%.
We will keep readers up to date with this developing story.
Read More: Southern Tablelands, Wollondilly, Southern Highlands, Picton, Wilton, Camden