Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor will fight it out for the Liberal party leadership on Friday morning, a leadership challenge launched after nine months of internal turmoil and poor polling.
Taylor’s move to take the opposition leadership could also unseat Ley’s deputy, Ted O’Brien, and open the way for a new generation at the top of Liberal ranks.
Here are the main contenders for the deputy leadership.
Jane Hume
Dumped by Ley from the frontbench after the Coalition’s 2025 election loss, the Victorian senator has emerged as a frontrunner for deputy this week.
First elected in 2016, Hume is a leading moderate but is backing Taylor after serving as shadow finance minister while Taylor was shadow treasurer.
A former minister for superannuation and finance services under Scott Morrison, the 54-year-old Melburnian was blamed for Peter Dutton’s disastrous work-from-home policy, and was demoted by Ley last year.
Hume winning the deputy leadership could end lingering uncertainty over the Victorian Liberal Senate ticket ahead of the next election. It would likely also see her leapfrog fellow Victorian and Taylor backer James Paterson in the pecking order for the opposition Senate leadership, now held by Michaelia Cash.
Victorian senator
Tim Wilson
Re-elected in the Melbourne seat of Goldstein, Wilson could soon have a seat at the top.
Prior to entering parliament, Wilson worked with the right-leaning Institute of Public Affairs where he focused on climate change policy before becoming the human rights commissioner in 2014.
Wilson was first elected to parliament in 2016 and was among the Liberal supporters of the historic marriage equality bill in 2017. In late 2021, he was elevated to assistant minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction under Taylor.
Wilson was one of six Liberals to lose his seat to a teal independent at the 2022 federal election. He wrangled the seat back off Zoe Daniel in 2025.
The 45-year-old is in the party’s moderate wing and has not been shy about his ambitions to one day lead the party.
Member for Goldstein, Victoria
Zoe McKenzie
The 53-year-old represents the seat of Flinders on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. While only her second term in parliament, she is already considered a rising star.
Under Ley’s leadership, McKenzie has served as the assistant minister for mental health and for education and early learning since 2025. While she has parliamentary committee experience too, she is considered one of the more inexperienced candidates for deputy leader.
McKenzie is in the moderate wing of the party and defeated the teal independent Ben Smith at the 2025 federal election.
Member for Flinders, Victoria
Melissa McIntosh
McIntosh has also made no secret of her ambition to lead the Liberal party, previously telling supporters she would be honoured to serve “one day”.
The frontbencher has been slated by some internally as a possible candidate for the deputy position under Taylor but has been described by some colleagues as too inexperienced.
The 48-year-old was first elected to the outer western Sydney seat of Lindsay in 2019, sits in the centre-right faction, and is an ally and former chief-of-staff for Alex Hawke, the Liberal frontbencher.
McIntosh is the shadow communications minister and shadow minister for women on Ley’s frontbench.
Member for Lindsay, New South Wales
Dan Tehan
The shadow minister for energy and emissions reductions under Ley, Tehan has been in the middle of the Coalition’s fight about climate change and net zero by 2050 policies.
First elected in the Victorian seat of Wannon in 2010, Tehan’s mother, Marie Tehan, was in Victorian politics, including serving as the state’s health minister. He has held senior ministerial portfolios in Canberra, including education, trade and social services.
The 58-year-old was briefly discussed as a possible leadership candidate after the election but did not contest the race. Tehan confirmed he would run on Thursday evening.
Member for Wannon, Victoria
Melissa Price
A former environment minister, the Western Australian MP said on Thursday she planned to nominate for the deputy leadership.
A lawyer and the member for Durack, a seat which covers much of the top part of WA, she was first elected in 2013.
Price ruled out running for the leadership this week, citing the poor treatment of Ley over the past nine months. She has previously held ministerial responsibility for defence industry and science.
“I think I’ve got a lot to offer, I’m very experienced, I’ve been there since 2013. I think I’d be a good counterbalance to Angus, should he become the leader,” she told ABC radio on Thursday.
Member for Durack, Western Australia
Ted O’Brien
Some moderates want Ley’s deputy and the opposition treasury spokesperson to stay in the role. O’Brien was first elected as the member for Fairfax in 2016.
He spent his early career wearing many hats; a trainee baker, management consultant, lobbyist. He is a former chair of the Australian Republican Movement and a former director of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games organising committee.
As the shadow minister for climate change, O’Brien was the architect of Peter Dutton’s much criticised policy for government-owned and operated nuclear power plants.
Member for Fairfax, Queensland
