Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has been heartened by discussions with party colleagues, party elders and the broader community. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Elizabeth Lee will attempt to stay on as Canberra Liberals Leader when the party room meets on Thursday morning (31 October) for the first time since the election loss.
Former leader and deputy leader Jeremy Hanson, who was rolled as deputy and dumped from shadow cabinet last term, will challenge Ms Lee for the leadership.
Ms Lee, a moderate, said that if successful, she would welcome Mr Hanson, a right-winger, back into a significant role in the shadow ministry.
“If I am privileged to be elected leader, I would really like for Jeremy to play a very important role in my shadow cabinet,” she said.
“He actually is very good at what he does, and everyone who has seen him perform in the chamber or when he’s been out there advocating on an issue understands the enormous strengths that he brings to a party room or the Canberra Liberals and the ACT Legislative Assembly.”
Ms Lee played down the ideological differences between the two candidates, but she indicated that the party would be sending a signal to the Canberra community about its direction in Thursday’s ballot.
“I think it will also be a way that a Canberra Liberals party room signals to the Canberra community who you back and who you want to move forward with,” she said.
Ms Lee said she had always argued that the Liberals reflected the diversity of the views in the Canberra community and that the platform she took to the election was based on the issues important to Canberrans.
“I think that a lot of political players … love to talk about this conservative-moderate divide, but ultimately, especially for an ACT Government, it’s about making sure that Canberrans are getting the services that they deserve and that they’re paying rates for.”
Challenger Jeremy Hanson. Ms Lee will welcome him back to shadow cabinet if she is successful. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
Ms Lee also gave her full support to Leanne Castley in remaining as Deputy Leader.
She said she would always back whomever the party room chose to be leader but was non-committal about her future if she lost.
“Look, that’s a hypothetical, and I think that with any leader who does contest and if they don’t get that result, it obviously would raise questions about what they do, and I’ll be no different,” she said.
Ms Lee said that despite the election loss, she still believed she was the right person to lead the Canberra Liberals to the 2028 election.
“I’ve been heartened by some of the discussions that I’ve had not just with my party colleagues but also party elders, party members, and the broader community as well,” she said.
She also had the full support of her family to stay on as leader.
Ms Lee said that if successful, she would take on feedback about her leadership style and whatever the formal review of the campaign would reveal.
She said that she threw everything at the campaign and had no regrets, but there were always questions about what could have been done differently.
“One of the things that any leader goes through, especially in the beginning, is to try and navigate what their leadership style is going to be like,” Ms Lee said.
“That’s part of the discussions that I’ve had with my party room colleagues about what they would like to see different, as well as if I was to remain leader, what it is that I can do to support them better.”
Ms Lee said she also accepted that the party would prefer team stability throughout this term.
Two new members will join the party room – Chiaka Barry in Ginninderra and Deborah Morris in Brindabella, both of whom are on the right of the party.
In such a small party room, the leadership ballot could come down to a single vote.
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