He had previously declared his desire to one day lead the Liberal Party, however, he told reporters in Perth on Saturday that he supported Ms Ley and was not challenging to replace her.<\/p>\n
Look back at how ABC readers and other Australians responded to this live
\n moment.<\/p>\n
1h agoSat 4 Oct 2025 at 1:47am<\/p>\n
Hastie wishes to remain part of the Liberal party<\/p>\n
Wrapping up his press conference, Hastie said he remained a proud member of the Liberal Party.<\/p>\n
“I never said I’d quit the party, I said I’d leave the frontbench. I’ve left the frontbench,” he said.<\/p>\n
“A narrative that built up was incorrect.<\/p>\n
“I’m a proud member of the Liberal Party. I was only elected into the seat of Canning on the Liberal Party platform, and I wish to remain part of the Liberal Party. “<\/p>\n
1h agoSat 4 Oct 2025 at 1:45am<\/p>\n
Hastie didn’t consult widely before resigning<\/p>\n
The former shadow minister for home affairs says he didn’t consult widely for this decision to resign.<\/p>\n
“I’m not going to go into other conversations that I might have had, suffice to say, I didn’t consult widely,” he said.<\/p>\n
“My objective was not to create any sort of instability for Susan.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to do this orderly and in a respectful manner and I think that’s what I’ve done so far. “<\/p>\n
1h agoSat 4 Oct 2025 at 1:43am<\/p>\n
Hastie says ‘no scuttlebutt here’ with Ley<\/p>\n
Asked why he had not met with Sussan Ley before his resignation from the front bench, Hastie said he was on leave.<\/p>\n
“I had some leave earlier in the week, I had a bit of a medical procedure myself but I won’t go into detail,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I was just busy on school holidays with my kids, recovering and she knew I was on leave, so there’s no scuttlebutt here.”<\/p>\n
Show more<\/p>\n
Instead, he said he quit the frontbench because Ms Ley made it clear he would not play a leading role in developing the Coalition’s immigration policy.<\/p>\n
“Immigration is a core responsibility of home affairs, and so when it was made clear I wouldn’t have any leadership in that role, I thought it was time for me to depart.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Andrew Hastie says his decision to leave the frontbench is not a challenge to Sussan Ley. (AAP: James Ross)<\/p>\n
Mr Hastie said he believed the Coalition could win the next election by appealing to “regular mainstream Australians” who were frustrated by immigration levels and housing pressures.<\/p>\n
“Immigration is out of control. Not enough houses are being built. People are feeling the pressures in the cities so I think there is a pathway to victory,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We’re also going through a period of renewal as a party and I want to be able to speak up on issues that I care about, and in order to uphold the principle of cabinet solidarity, I had to step back.”<\/p>\n
The Coalition is yet to announce a migration policy.<\/p>\n