Former opposition leader Sussan Ley has described the “inevitable ending” of her political career in her first live appearance since being ousted from the Liberal Party.
Ms Ley appeared on the ABC’s 7:30 on Tuesday night, where she discussed the conclusion of her time in politics and detailed what she did in the aftermath of being dethroned by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor on February 13.
“When I lost the leadership, and went through, you know, the inevitable ending of 25 years in public life, I knew that I needed to find my own voice,” she told 7:30 host Sarah Ferguson.
“There was a political self-reckoning for me, and I went through that process.”
“It was about finding clarity. And I did find clarity.”
Ms Ley described taking a road trip on a Greyhound bus that went from the top of Central America to the bottom, which she said gave her the chance to “to speak in my own voice”.
“I didn’t go to America to become an expert, I went to America to look, to notice, and to quietly write.”
“There was people whose lives were in transition and disarray, and that’s what struck me from the moment I got on the first bus,” she said.
“It’s hard to describe the expression on someone’s face that comes from a lifetime of being overlooked.”
Ms Ley said the trip served as a cure for burnout she had experienced and to move on past her time as a politician.
“It’s allowed me to draw a line, very conclusively, under those 25 years in public life. And move to this next chapter, where I know that I will have more to say,” she said.
“While I dealt with the effects of burnout, it didn’t bring me undone.”
“It allowed me to move to the next chapter of my life, which is where I am now.”
Ms Ley was reluctant to discuss her political career or the current political climate but said she was “proud of what I achieved”.
“There is no point in relitigating something that happened in the past,” she said.
“If I think about my time in politics, I’m proud of what I achieved. I don’t dwell on it, because I’m very much focused on the next chapter of my life.”
When questioned about controversial views from the One Nation party surrounding Australia’s multiculturalism, Ms Ley recalled her experiences in the US to support a multicultural community in Australia.
“I’m a huge supporter of the Australian multicultural project for the simple reason we’ve been able to achieve multicultural Australia not by erasing people’s differences, but giving them space to belong.
“I think this is something we should all be incredibly proud of.”
Ms Ley said that she had found what she was looking for and would “leave the political commentary to others”.