Liberal leader Sussan Ley speaks out about mum's death as parliament fight looms
Ms Ley's mother, 93-year-old Angela Braybrooks, died just days after she became the party's first female leader and shortly before the short-lived split in the Coalition.
She described it as a 'stressful' time, 'because in the back of your mind you know you'd really rather be sitting quietly with your mum instead of dealing with these issues'.
'But, you know, the world of politics waits for no one and she understood that. So, um, yeah, the timing wasn't great,' Ms Ley told 60 Minutes' Tara Brown.
Asked if she felt like she'd had enough time with her late mother, Ms Ley said: 'I think that when I look at those last days, maybe not.
'But, I was there for those important moments, you know, to tell her what I needed to say and I think to basically say thank you.'
Ms Ley is making a desperate pitch to voters on the future of the Liberal Party followings its bruising loss at the last federal election.
Chief among those the new Liberal leader is hoping to court is women, a key democratic who Liberal critics say the party's policies have let down.
Ms Ley has repeatedly described herself as a 'zealot' for getting more women into the party, but 'agnostic' about how amid controversy over calls for gender quotas.
Nonetheless, the number of women in Ms Ley's shadow ministry were reduced by four after she took the reigns earlier this year.
'Forty-per cent of my shadow ministry is made of women. I think it is important for a female leader to make this a priority as I have,' she said.
Asked about the reshuffle, Ms Ley said: 'I do want to say with respect to positions in or out of that shadow ministry, everyone can't be included.
'That's just a mathematical fact. But everyone is included in the important work we have to do as a team.'
Ms Ley has a significant task in-front of her following the Liberal Party's devastating loss.
'I do have a sense of hope and optimism for the task ahead,' she said.
'But, I don't step back one bit from the size of that task because we did not do well at the last election, we were smashed in metro seats.
'We need to go back to the Australian people with humility and honesty, and we need to listen.'
Ms Ley rejected suggestions the leadership was a 'poisoned chalice', stating: 'I put my hand up. I want this job. I know I'm the best person at this point in time.'
Originally published as Liberal leader Sussan Ley speaks out about mum's death as parliament fight looms
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