Well, good afternoon, all.
It is the greatest honour of my life to be elected as the leader of the Liberal Party.
Today, I am reminded of my great parents who taught me and my three brothers from a very early age that two of the most important attributes in life were courage and service.
That's what life is about, and that's why I'm absolutely determined to fight for our nation.
I thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity to take up the fight, and I want to congratulate Jane Hume, my deputy, who has, of course, been elected as Deputy Leader today.
I also want to acknowledge Sussan Ley for her extraordinary contribution to the Liberal Party and to this country.
She took on an incredibly difficult task after a humbling election defeat back in May last year. Her work ethic has been absolutely relentless, and her commitment to the Liberal Party and this nation has extended over a long period of time; as a minister in four governments and, of course, as Opposition Leader over the last eight months.
I thank her for that and for her gracious remarks earlier as well.
She is a great person and a great Liberal.
We must look ahead and put the disagreements of the recent past behind us and, most importantly, hold a bad Labor government to account by putting Australians first.
I'm looking forward to working with David Littleproud in a coalition which has served us so well over such an extended period of time, and I spoke with David just a few hours ago.
It is clear we are running out of time. I won't mince words. The Liberal Party is in the worst position that it has been since it was founded in 1944.
I don't shy away from this, and I know that many of our supporters are angry.
They wanted to see change at the last election, and they didn't see the change that they wanted.
I'm particularly conscious that we got some big calls wrong, especially on personal income tax, and it won't happen again.
If an election was held today, our party may not exist by the end of it.
We're in this position because we didn't stay true to our core values, because we stopped listening to Australians, because we were attracted to the politics of convenience rather than focusing on the politics of conviction.
This ends today.
This ends today. There is much work to be done to win back supporters and everyday Australians, but just as Australians have put faith in us before, I'm confident we can restore their faith in us again.
It's on us to regain that trust and earn it, but the choice is simple for the Liberal Party.
Change or die, and I choose change.
If we're united and focused and put the Australian people first, we can confront the challenges of the times, and there are many.
So many Australians can't afford to buy a home. Australians who are working two jobs are juggling whether they can feed their families or pay their electricity bills.
Record immigration has added pressures to infrastructure, to services, to housing in this country. Our borders have been opened to people who hate our way of life, people who don't want to embrace Australia and who want Australia to change for them.
We've had the worst terrorist attack on our soil in our history. Our soil in our history perpetrated by Islamist extremists. And as Australians, we're less free.
It shouldn't be this way.
Labor has undermined our standard of living and has failed to protect our way of life. And I say to Australians, the first priority of the Liberal Party now, under my leadership, will be to restore our standard of living and protect our way of life.
Bigger government isn't the solution to Australia's problems. Australians are the solution to Australia's problems. And that means putting faith back in you.
I want our country to once again be one of opportunity and aspiration.
We must restore Australia to a country where life is affordable, where our kids can buy a home, where you can raise a family, and where there's a fair go once again, where we're a nation of strength and unity, where we unapologetically defend Australian values.
Many of us have known that Australia before.
I want all Australians to experience it now.
So let me be clear about my resolve as Leader and what the Liberal Party will stand for under my leadership.
All Australians, especially young Australians, deserve the stability and the opportunity to own a home.
We'll re-establish home ownership as the centrepiece of the Australian dream.
We'll stand for an immigration policy that puts the interests of Australians first and puts Australian values at the centre of that policy.
If someone doesn't subscribe to our core beliefs - the door must be shut.
If someone wants to import the hatred and violence of another place to Australia - the door must be shut.
As Liberals, we stand for lower inflation, lower interest rates and lower taxes.
The Liberal Party must always be the party of lower taxes.
We will ferociously fight Labor's bad taxes - taxes on homes, taxes on superannuation, taxes on our children's future.
We know that government must live within its means, so Australians have the means to live.
Moreover, our goal is to grow the economy so that it delivers for you, and that means giving confidence for Australian businesses to invest.
Australia needs an energy policy that is based on common sense, not Labor's net zero ideology.
We will get rid of Labor's bad carbon taxes on their family vehicle, on manufacturing and food in this country, and of course, on electricity.
We'll reduce financial pressures for families, expand childcare choice and give children the best start in life, not force every family into a universal system.
And we'll properly fund our defence force to deter threats and aggression in these uncertain times.
Our nation must be defended because our history, our culture, our values are worth celebrating and defending.
Under my leadership, the Liberals will nurture national confidence and love for our country.
We'll focus on the things that unite us, family, community and nation.
And that revitalisation starts today.
So let me finish by saying that my message to Anthony Albanese is this: we will fight every bad tax, every reckless spending initiative, every policy that drives up inflation and keeps interest rates higher for longer.
The Liberal Party is under new leadership, and with that new leadership will come change because our country needs change for the better.
I stand before you today - determined and ready - to serve Australians with courage and with conviction.
Our team will fight the worst Labor government in Australian history, because Australia is worth fighting for.
And I'll ask Jane to say a few words.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Thanks, Angus. I am very humbled to have been elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. And I want to thank my colleagues first and foremost for placing their faith in me.
I also want to thank the other candidates who stood today, my friends, Dan Tehan, Melissa Price and Ted O'Brien.
And may I particularly acknowledge Ted O'Brien for all his dedication, his loyalty, and his incredible hard work as Deputy Leader. He is a valued colleague and a very good friend.
I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to deliver for our great Party and for the people that we represent.
Finally, I want to join with Angus in thanking Sussan Ley for her service to our Party, to the Parliament and to our country. I admire Susan greatly. I will always be in awe of her dedication that she has shown in every single role that she has had in government and in opposition.
Our party and our movement has a proud history. In my role as Deputy, I will make it my mission to ensure that it also has a bright future.
We know the challenge that faces us. We know that many people have lost faith.
Angus and I, and indeed every member of our party room, will be focused on delivering a Liberal Party that is driven by courage and conviction.
Australians deserve it, and our future needs it.
The Liberal Party is a party of hope and it is a party of aspiration, but most importantly it's a party for all Australians. Together with Angus as our leader, we will be talking about that every day and taking that message across the country.
When I left university a fair while ago now, I walked straight into Labor's recession we had to have. It scarred my generation. It set them back.
It kept them behind. It held them down. And it happened on Labor's watch.
It took Liberal governments right across the country to restore our standard of living, our prosperity and our hope.
Today we're seeing history repeat. Standards of living are collapsing, hard work is going unrewarded, and we have a government that doesn't listen.
It's a message that I am hearing right across the country. Every family will know a young person who has lost hope, who feels that no matter how hard they work, they simply can't get ahead.
Labor has failed Australians. They've failed to deliver on the promises they made just months ago.
Australia deserves an opposition. Australia deserves a Liberal Party that can rise to the challenges that we face.
And that's what you'll see under Angus Taylor. Labor knows this....
Wait a second! Wait a second. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not a good start, Phil.
…Labor knows this, and they're already out there. Labor are already out there because rather than focusing on fighting inflation or raising our standards of living or bringing our communities together, they will play politics. And they do this because it's their choice.
They do this because it's their instinct, and it's their instinct every time to play politics over what matters to Australians.
Under Angus Taylor, Australians will see a Liberal Party that focuses on them, a party that listens and responds to the issues that matter. And I know this because I know Angus.
He is smart, he is dedicated, and he will be in your corner every single day. And he will never give up. Now you can ask questions!
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Why don't we start over here?
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, you outlined a quite broad range of policies that you want to focus on. What is priority number one for you now that you're Leader, on policy? And second, what is your response to claims from Sussan Ley's supporters that she was white-anted and undermined from day one since she was elected as Leader?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, two questions there. Let me start with the first one.
Two priorities that I've already outlined. The first is to restore Australia's standard of living, which has collapsed under a rotten Labor government. Under a rotten Labor government.
They do not know how to manage this economy, and the result is Australians are getting poorer, their standard of living is going backwards, not just in absolute terms, but relative to peer countries around the world. And this has been an economic disaster for Australians.
Secondly, protecting our way of life. And we have seen threats to our way of life, and continue to see threats to our way of life that we haven't seen for generations.
Those must be the two first priorities of the Liberal Party, and they certainly will be under my leadership.
On your second question, look, I sought to support Sussan throughout her leadership, and she has played an enormously important role, working with a work ethic that was just extraordinary over the last eight months.
But the decision has been made by the party room to reset, and I feel humbled and privileged to be taking on that role.
So can we just keep moving across the room? We'll go…
JOURNALIST:
In moving for the top job, your supporters and yourself have highlighted the bad polling. Have you fallen for the same trap that Malcolm Turnbull did in setting those poll expectations? How long can you give yourself before your own party puts the same pressure on you?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, I have great respect for the pollsters out there and those who look at the polls, but I've got to say, when I get around my electorate or get around Australia, I hear the things that have led to this reset.
People are disappointed with the Liberal Party and particularly disappointed that we haven't, in the past, in the recent past, been able to deliver Australians what they want to see. And they want to see a party focused on the challenges Australians are facing, the fact that they have seen this collapse in their standard of living, the fact that they do see our way of life under threat, and that will be my absolutely relentless focus.
We'll keep moving across.
JOURNALIST:
Are you concerned what impact this will have on the female vote now that you've toppled the Liberal Party's first female leader?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, our focus is on bringing back all of those people who have been disappointed with the Liberal Party, who voted for us at the last election but are indicating they might not now, and to those who we wanted to have vote for us at the last election but didn't, male and female. It doesn't matter.
We have lost voters across the board, across all age groups, and it's our job now, Jane and my job, and the team's job, to roll up our sleeves and get working hard on delivering to Australians and holding this rotten Labor government to account. We'll keep...
I think Probes was next, yeah. Oh, sorry, mate.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, you've given us a long list of values there. Can I just ask you about a couple? You said that Australians are less free. You came to Parliament in your maiden speech, you talked about being against political correctness. So, firstly, what is it that you want people to be able to say that they can't say now?
And secondly, on migration, you guys have had a policy in your back pocket since before Bondi that I understand reduces net-overseas migration by about 100,000. Are you going to release that next week?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Probes, let me deal with the second one and then we'll go back to the first one.
On the second one, I've already made some comments today about immigration policy. It is clear that numbers have been too high and standards have been too low. And our policy will be for lower numbers and for higher standards. But crucially, and this is the point I made today, our policy will also be about putting Australians first and putting Australian values first.
We want people who come to this country to believe in our core values, in democracy, in the rule of law, in our basic freedoms. And that is something we will have more to say about in the coming weeks. Your other question was...
JOURNALIST:
Australians are less free…
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Yeah, no, and I think that's absolutely right. If you talk to businesspeople across Australia, small or large, they will tell you time and time again that page after page of new legislation, regulation, extra resources going into regulators, new regulators, several created this week by the Labor Party, is just making life harder to get things done. And if it's harder to get things done, we see less investment, we see less prosperity, we don't see the rising incomes that Australians want to see.
And I think that is an absolutely fundamental cause for Australians seeing a collapsing...
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor...
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, I'm giving you an example of freedom and I think it's an important one.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, do you take personal responsibility for the Coalition's lacklustre economic policies that it took to the last election? What have you learnt as your time, since your time in Shadow Treasurer, and will you commit to taking a package of wholesale tax reform to the next election?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, can I say, I think what we've learnt, and I said this earlier, is that we need to be the party of lower taxes, including lower personal income taxes. I think that was a mistake. I made that point some time back. I think Phil Coorey is here somewhere, is he? I made that point to Phil some time ago. That I thought that was a mistake and I thought that at the time.
We now need to get serious about lower taxes and, in particular, fighting Labor's bad taxes. We have a bad tax which is clearly being planned by Labor on Australians' homes. We have a bad tax from Labor on superannuation, and we are going to fight those taxes because they are not the right taxes for Australia.
We're just going to keep moving systematically. We'll get to you, PK.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, you said you got big calls wrong, and you mentioned the personal income tax. What were the other mistakes of the election?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Look, I'm not going to go into an analysis of the election. You're the commentators, and that's a matter for you. But what I will say is that our priorities from here are restoring Australia's standard of living and protecting our way of life.
If we're to restore our standard of living, we need to see rising incomes. We can't see the rising taxes we're seeing under Labor. Bracket creep continues to erode Australians' incomes and we're seeing inflation eroding Australians' incomes as interest rates are rising.
This is an absolute economic catastrophe for Australians and we're going to fight it. John.
JOURNALIST:
Thanks, Angus. Will you keep Ted O'Brien as Shadow Treasurer, or will you consider putting someone such as Tim Wilson or someone else into that portfolio?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, can I say, Ted has done a great job as Shadow Treasurer. He has fought hard against Labor's bad spending initiatives. He has fought hard against the Labor Party that is overseeing rising inflation, rising interest rates and collapsing standards of living. And we need to keep that fight up to Labor. I'm not going to make frontbench announcements today, but I will say that Ted is a marvellous contributor to our team and I'm sure he'll continue to be.
JOURNALIST:
Angus, on the subject of mistakes, what you've learned from the last election, can I ask Senator Hume, for all the people who are working from home at the moment watching this press conference, will you apologise for the policy of trying to scale back working from home and will there be any changes to working from home, public, private sector or otherwise, under your leadership?
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Cam, I think it was pretty clear during the election campaign that that policy was a mistake. That's why we didn't take it to the election and why we won't be taking it to a future election.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, we are...
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
We're just about there. We're just about there.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, in your remarks, you had a message for Anthony Albanese, but I'm wondering, do you have a message for Pauline Hanson?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, can I say to those who have been thinking about shifting away from the Liberal Party, to One Nation or any other party, we understand that you're disappointed with us. We understand that we need to do better to restore your confidence in us. We are going to do everything in our power to make sure that you see those core Liberal values, those core Liberal priorities, back front and centre in what we talk about every day, and that includes restoring Australians' standard of living and protecting their way of life because that's what I think Australians want to see. We'll go to PK now.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, we are in an era where populists around the world are on the rise and in Australia, One Nation's Pauline tells that story. You appear, correct me if I'm wrong, as a very traditional Liberal of the Howard Costello model. Is that something you lean into and you're proud of, or do you think perhaps you don't fit the times?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, I think what fits the times, PK, is an approach from the Liberal Party where we believe in economic freedom, where we believe that if the private sector is enabled to make investments, to make choices, they will make good investments and good choices that benefit all Australians and that economic freedom, which I've talked about earlier, I think is enormously important.
Many of the populists around the world are not focused on those things. If we want to see rising standards of living, if we want to see successful businesses, if we want to see prosperous communities across this country, if we want to see money coming in that allows us to spend what we need to to fund our Defence Force, to fund our services, we need to see Australians having the confidence to invest in our future.
JOURNALIST:
Do you need to be careful about becoming One Nation-light?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, you know, we are not seeking to be One Nation light. Absolutely not, PK. But we respect the fact that those voters who might be thinking about One Nation have reasons for wanting to do so and we have to restore their confidence in us.
We do need to focus on protecting Australia's way of life, which I know many voters are concerned about. But we also need to focus on what we know works in an economy, which is, if you put faith in Australians to invest in the future of our country, they will do it, and they will do it better than a government ever could. We'll keep going back.
JOURNALIST:
The reset is happening here without the public release of the election review. Will you commit to releasing the election review in full? If not, why not?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
That's a matter for the party organisation and I'll leave it to them. Phil?
JOURNALIST:
Can I just address in the context of Patricia's question how important for the early calibration of your leadership will be the by-election in Farrer?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, we know it will be tough. We know that. Because when we get out and about around Australia, forget the polls, we see the loss of confidence that there has been in the Liberal Party, and we've got to restore that confidence. So, we know it will be challenging, Phil.
But we will do the work, Jane and myself and the rest of the team, the hard work that will take time to restore Australians' confidence in us. We're ready.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, when Sussan Ley stood with you just nine months ago, she said she would take the Liberal Party back towards the centre, after a disastrous election defeat from the right. Your bleeding votes in the centre to the Teals, your hemorrhaging votes from the right to One Nation and others, where will you take the Liberal Party?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, I don't really think of it as left, right or centre. I think of it as focusing on Australians and the challenges that hard-working Australians are facing every single day. The challenge that they are struggling to pay their bills. The challenge that they can't see a pathway for them or for their kids to own a home. The challenge they're seeing in finding a way to get childcare that suits them in a world where people want more flexibility and choice around childcare, not a universal system. I mean, that's got to be the focus, Mark. And that will absolutely be the focus of Jane and myself and our team.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Mark, we're going to take the Liberal Party forward. Not left, not right. We're not moving towards any one party. We're taking our party and the people that we want to represent forward.
JOURNALIST:
Senator Hume has said that her public service work from home policy was a mistake. I'd imagine you would admit the same about your comments about the Chinese community through the election. You've mentioned that opposing Labor's tax cuts was a mistake. There wasn't much in the way of Liberal economic policy in the last election beyond that.
How could it be that you are both saying you or the people to take the Liberal Party out of its current predicament when, arguably you are two of the people most responsible for the position the Liberal Party currently finds itself in?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, can I say, I think there were very good things in the last election policy, even if there were mistakes. One of those includes a focus on freeing up businesses in this country to invest in the future of our country. We are seeing a combination of regulation, regulators and militant unions holding back our businesses, small and large, from investing in the future of our country.
If we want our incomes to go up, if we want more prosperity, if we want to turn around the disastrous loss of standard of living we've seen under Labor, we need businesses with confidence to invest. And that focus on getting rid of the red tape, of the regulation, and we've got regulators in this country who are continuing to have more and more resources to make life harder for hard-working Australians who are just trying to run a small business and get ahead. So, well, I'll tell you what you're going to hear about it from the leader of the party every day.
This is going to be a relentless focus for us because we need an economy that works for Australians. Greg.
JOURNALIST:
Thank you, Mr Taylor. You've mentioned a number of times now you want to protect the way of life that we have in Australia, that Labor is not doing that. You've also talked about people coming to our country who hate our way of life. What are you saying to potential migrants, and what are you saying about the way you want the immigration system to run?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, what I am saying is we want an immigration system that is in the interest of Australians. And the interest of Australians is having people who come to this country who believe in those core values we believe in: democracy, the rule of law, our basic freedoms - these things really matter. They matter to Australians, they matter to me, and I think they matter to the future of our nation and that needs to be the focus.
JOURNALIST:
Regarding the upcoming by-election in Farrer, have you spoken to David Littleproud about that, and do you think both the Nationals and Liberals will be fielding candidates? And you just spoke about the need to change or die. How are the list of priorities you just outlined so different from what Sussan Ley was talking about a week ago?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Yeah, I'm not going to get into commentary about Sussan's tenure and policies. I think she has, as I say, shown us a relentless work ethic. She's a great servant of the Liberal Party and this nation.
But what I will say is you will see a relentless focus from us on restoring Australia's standard of living and protecting their way of life, and that's what I think Australians want to see from a Liberal Party. Getting back to our core values, focusing on the politics of conviction, not just convenience. I hear that.
What it means is we're going to be staying true to our values, our focus on the important economic freedoms that we know will restore Australia's standard of living and restore home ownership as the centrepiece of the Australian ideal. These are the things that I think really matter. Let's keep moving.
JOURNALIST:
I've got a by-election question too. And for a three-cornered contest question, that would be great…
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Sorry, I didn't. I probably didn't give a full answer to that. But I'll try to do that now!
JOURNALIST:
…Also for that by-election, will you use your authority as Leader to make sure One Nation is preferenced last, given the threat that it's posing to the Liberals? And also, if I might, there's a fairly infamous Facebook comment that's dogged you for a number of years now. It's often said that ridicule is the biggest enemy of politicians. How do you get past that?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Look, I have passed mugs around the press gallery with that on it. If people want to congratulate me, as they seem to like doing, I'm delighted by that!
Can I say to the earlier question, which I didn't quite answer, look, I've had a discussion with David Littleproud. That's a private discussion. And David and I will talk much more, I'm sure, in the coming days. So, I think that's the answer to your question.
In terms of One Nation, that's a matter for the party organisation. I'll leave that to them. As I said, that's a matter for the party organisation.
JOURNALIST:
Just on One Nation and migration, migration is obviously an issue that One Nation has spent a lot of time talking about it's a key priority for them. It's obviously one that you've set out as a key priority for you as well. How are you going to outflank One Nation on that issue?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
By getting it right. By getting it right. I mean, I have always believed that good migration is good for this country. I've always believed that.
I grew up in a town not far south of here, which was a migrant town. And I saw what it brought to the country. We had the first great cappuccinos in this country. And it was a wonderful, wonderful thing at Cooma, not far south of here. So, I've seen what good immigration can do. But we don't want bad immigration. And it has, as I said earlier, it's been too high, the numbers, and the standards have been too low. And that must change.
JOURNALIST:
How can we compare to One Nation…
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
One at a time. We'll keep moving.
JOURNALIST:
How will you find out if people hate Australia? Will it be a citizenship test? Will it be a patriotism test? Will some countries be off limits? Will there be a pause from some countries? How will you determine who hates and doesn't hate Australia ahead of them actually coming here when they're in another country? And Jane Hume, how will you restore ties with the Chinese diaspora who you've offended so deeply and who perhaps might want to hear an apology?
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Would you like me to start?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Yeah, you start. I'll come back to you.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
So, to begin with, the comments that I made two days before the election were out of line. They were ill-considered. And it was a breakfast TV programme where I said a throwaway line regarding foreign interference or reported foreign interference in the Labor Party during an election. They have been taken massively out of context. Labor did a great job weaponising that against us. And I have, in fact, apologised to those that were offended by that.
They were ill-considered remarks. Of course, we are going to build relations with every community because, let's face it, the Liberal Party is a party for all Australians, not a sectional interest like the other parties. We're not a party of reactionary responses, the way the One Nation is.
We're a party that responds, listens and responds, but doesn't react. But the most important thing now is that Angus and I and all of our team get out there and make sure that Australians know that we're listening to them, that we're responding to them, and that we're delivering a policy agenda that reflects their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations, that will allow them to get ahead, that will give them hope and optimism for the future, because they're not feeling that now.
JOURNALIST:
Can I just...?
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Hang on, just a second. There was a second part of that question. How do you test whether people hate Australia? The first point I would make is that most people who come to this country understand that this is one of the greatest gifts a human being could ever have received in history. This is the greatest country on earth. And for someone to come here, it is an enormous gift. And I am absolutely sure that the vast majority of people who come to this country understand it. But if people want to come to this country who don't believe in democracy, don't believe in the rule of law and don't believe in our basic freedoms, that is a problem and it is unacceptable.
The truth is that some people do not want to change in order to fit with our core values. And those core values are pretty simple, they're pretty fundamental, and they have stood the test of time for a great nation.
I think it's time to move. We've done the full circuit now, so I think we'll go back and see if there's any more questions coming from this side.
JOURNALIST:
I'll take one if I can. Just on one of the criticisms that has been levelled at this whole process so far has been what's been considered a rather poor timing on your side.
So today, landing on the National Apology anniversary breakfast and the split itself from the Coalition recently on the [National] Day of Mourning and Katie Allen's funeral, of course, being another flashpoint to this process. What do you make of that, and to people who are genuinely hurt to see that politics has taken priority over their concerns?
Well, I don't think anyone in the Liberal Party wanted us to be in the position we are, which is the worst position we've been in since the party was founded in 1944. And the reality is there's always a lot going on, and there are important things going on every day in this place and around the country.
But the decision was made by my colleagues, and it was clear that it was time for a reset. I'm humbled that that resulted in me becoming Leader and I'm sure I know Jane feels the same way about becoming Deputy Leader. And we respect those important events that have been happening over recent days and weeks.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, what's your focus going to be?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Hang on, we're just working our way through, PK.
JOURNALIST:
What can you say to the millions of Australians who are either migrants or the children of migrants that the Liberal Party cares about them too?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Yeah, no, it is a great question and we do. Look, the vast majority of people who come to this country, they want to get ahead. They're aspirational, they want to educate their children, they want to own a home, they want to start a business. I mean, this is the Australian way, and that is such a wonderful thing. And I grew up with people like that around me, as I say, and it was a privilege to do so. So that is an important part of our fabric, our formula, and it has been an incredible success.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Can I add to that? Australia's migrant story is a part of all of our stories. I would lay you odds that most of the people in the room that are asking questions today are either first- or second-generation migrants themselves or have first or second-generation migrants in their families. My partner is Greek, my brother-in-law is Chinese. Of course, it's part of all Australians. So when we say we want to talk to all Australians, that includes everybody. We are not discriminating one section or another. That's what other parties do. That's not what we do.
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Can I add to that? I have a very significant migrant community in my electorate, and I hear time and time again, they want people coming to this country who believe in this country. And that's a very, very important point we all need to take on board.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor…
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
We'll get to you, PK. We're just about there again.
JOURNALIST:
A couple of months ago, Andrew Hastie said that anyone still talking about the international rules-based order is being naive and that the world is actually governed by might and not right, and always has been. Is that your view?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Oh, well, look, there's no doubt that it has been under threat, but I think it's been challenged in many ways over an extended period of time. Look, I think what we have to do in Australia is fight for Australia first. That is the most important thing we can do in this environment.
And I tell you, one of the core things that I believe in strongly is getting access to markets. I don't like tariffs. I don't like tariffs being imposed on Australia, and I'm going to continue to fight for access to markets, for our resources, our miners, our farmers, our manufacturers, our service providers. I think that's enormously important. Phil? No, we'll give PK one more go. Phil and then PK for the last one.
JOURNALIST:
Senator Hume, as the Deputy Leader, you're entitled to choose your own portfolio. I'm pretty sure you're not going to tell me what you're going to do, but are you not going to do Treasury?
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
I'm not going to discuss that today. I'm going to discuss that with my leader first and foremost. We have plenty of discussions ahead of us over the coming days. I will discuss it with my Leader in the upcoming couple of days.
JOURNALIST:
There's a push inside your party for a more populist, national approach, which is actually very anti-free markets and really wants to shun that approach. You're saying that you think free markets are still central, and you want to put forward policies in the Howard-Costello position.
Can you just articulate to me why you think that kind of populism or anti-globalisation rhetoric that I've heard in your own party is not the right way forward?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, can I say, the starting point for me on this is that we need to put faith in Australians. Australians to invest in the future of their businesses and in doing that, they invest in their communities and they invest in this country.
And in the process, they employ people, they serve customers, they pay suppliers, and we are all better off from that. But that can only come if we give the freedom and confidence to our businesses, small and large in this country, to get on with the job. Big government is not the answer here.
That's been Anthony Albanese's answer, and it's failing. We see it everywhere we go. We can do better, and I am confident that by putting faith back in the hands of Australians, we can have a strong economy where standards of living are rising, our incomes are rising, we can pay our bills, we can pay our mortgages and we can own homes, and that's what I want to see.
Thank you very much.
