Hastie Rules Himself Out of Liberal Leadership Contest

The Western Australian MP said he did not have enough support to become opposition leader.

MP Andrew Hastie at a Coalition joint party room meeting at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on July 21, 2025. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Federal Western Australian Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has ruled himself out of challenging for the Liberal Party leadership.

This announcement comes after he met with fellow right faction member Angus Taylor on Jan. 29 likely to discuss the possibility of challenging current Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

Hastie said over the past few weeks there had been speculation about the future leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia.

“I’ve previously stated that I would welcome the opportunity to serve my party and our country as leader of the Liberal Party,” he said on Facebook.

“But having consulted with colleagues over the past week and respecting their honest feedback to me, it is clear that I do not have the support needed to become leader of the Liberal Party. On this basis, I wish to make it clear: I will not be contesting the leadership of the Liberal Party.”

In May 2025, Hastie first revealed he had ambitions to lead his party in the future, only days after Ley became the first female leader of the Liberal Party.

“I'd be foolish to say I don’t have a desire to lead, but the timing was all out for personal reasons,” Hastie said on the Curtin’s Cast podcast on May 15.

On Jan 30, Hastie said he had made it his single focus to campaign on critical issues including immigration and energy.

“I have no intention of stopping that. I will continue to work every day to make my party the very best version of itself,” he said.

A split in the Liberal-National Coalition over support for new hate speech laws created the gap for discussion on Ley’s leadership.

Last year, Ley defeated Taylor in a ballot for the leadership 29 votes to 25 following the Coalition’s May federal election loss.