The party\u2019s choice to elect Hume as deputy leader will probably soften the blow of dumping their first female leader after only nine months. Taylor\u2019s primary priority is to stop the haemorrhaging of votes, and to win back those \u2013 women in metropolitan and regional seats, for example \u2013 who were once dependable supporters.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Parliament House after Friday\u2019s ballot, Hume said she knew people had lost faith in the party that opinion polls suggest would be decimated<\/a> even further if an election were held today.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Liberal party is a party of hope and it is a party of aspiration, but most importantly is a party for all Australians, together, with Angus as our leader,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While Hume sided with Taylor in the leadership spill, it\u2019s important to note she did not run on a joint ticket with him.<\/p>\n Hume\u2019s return to the shadow ministry also means the moderate wing still holds influence federally \u2013 the role is second-in-charge to Taylor, a leading economic and social conservative within the Liberals.<\/p>\n Hume\u2019s elevation could also impact who ends up as the opposition\u2019s Senate leader. The role is held by Michaelia Cash but is decided by the party\u2019s upper house members. A deputy leader, however, doesn\u2019t automatically need to run for Senate leadership.<\/p>\n A decade in the making<\/p>\n Hume\u2019s rise to the (almost) top hasn\u2019t been without its share of bumps along the way.<\/p>\n In the Morrison government, Hume served as minister for women\u2019s economic security, superannuation, financial services and the digital economy.<\/p>\n Following the Liberals\u2019 heavy loss in 2022, the 54-year-old took up the finance and public service portfolios and became the shadow special minister of state during Peter Dutton\u2019s time as opposition leader.<\/p>\n But the relatively unblemished run came to a halt during the 2025 election campaign when Hume was credited with drafting the disastrously unpopular policy to end working from home entitlements<\/a> for public servants.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n The policy was dumped a month later<\/a> but comparisons between the Trump administration\u2019s department of government efficiency (Doge) in the US and Dutton\u2019s public service policies continued to haunt the Liberals.<\/p>\n In the final week of the campaign, Hume claimed on Channel Seven\u2019s Sunrise that some Chinese Australians handing out how-to-vote cards for Labor may have been \u201cChinese spies\u201d. The comments drew sharp criticism<\/a> and experts suggested it could have contributed to swings<\/a> against the Liberals in seats with significant Chinese Australian populations.<\/p>\n After Ley took the reins following Dutton\u2019s loss in the 2025 election, Hume was dropped from the frontbench. Many saw this as a clear demotion<\/a> owing to her campaign performance.<\/p>\n Despite being a senior moderate, Hume didn\u2019t shy away from the occasional veiled swipe at Ley.<\/p>\n When Ley called for the Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, to be sacked from the role<\/a> after a curt encounter with US president Donald Trump, Hume described the opposition leader\u2019s demands as a \u201clittle bit churlish\u201d.<\/p>\n In the following week, Hume said she didn\u2019t like to \u201ctell people what it is that they should and shouldn\u2019t wear\u201d when Ley was on a warpath about Anthony Albanese\u2019s Joy Division T-shirt<\/a>.<\/p>\n A \u2018talented\u2019 operator with quick wit<\/p>\n Hume has been lauded by her colleagues, publicly and privately, as a great public performer with cut-through. Even Ley described her as \u201cenormously talented, fantastic\u201d as she demoted her from the frontbench.<\/p>\n In Senate estimates this week, Hume pointed out condoms were for sale in the women\u2019s bathrooms at the Parliament House gym but not the men\u2019s. Public officials quipped it was \u201cabsolutely wonderful that women are taking care of their sexual health\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wonder why men aren\u2019t taking responsibility as well,\u201d Hume said in response.<\/p>\n But even the most experienced operators have their moments.<\/p>\n Hume\u2019s quick wit and penchant for a joke has landed her in uncomfortable situations, such as when she apologised to the Asic chair, Joseph Longo, in June 2024<\/a> for wearing Lycra in the gym they both frequent.<\/p>\n \u201cLess worthy men have seen me in far less,\u201d Hume said before revealing a shocked expression. \u201cSorry, forgot myself for a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"'Less](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771000031_807_1920.jpg\")
‘Less worthy men have seen me in far less’: Senator Hume gets personal in estimates \u2013 video<\/p>\n