Liberal Senator Says Jacinta Price Did Not Deserve to Be Removed

Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson says senior Liberal women, including Jacinta Price, have been unfairly targeted.

Shadow Minister for Education Sarah Henderson looks on during a press conference in Melbourne, Australia, on May 21, 2024. AAP Image/James Ross

Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson has criticised Opposition leader Sussan Ley’s decision to remove Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Shadow Ministry, saying senior Liberal women were unfairly targeted.

Henderson, who was also demoted by Ley, said she, Senator Price, and others did not deserve to be sent to the backbench.

“I didn’t deserve it, neither did Jane Hume, neither did Claire [Senator Chandler], and of course, neither did Jacinta,” Henderson said on Sky News.

“So there was the unfortunate targeting of Senior Liberal women.”

Price’s Removal

Ley announced on Sept. 10 that Price would no longer serve on the frontbench, citing her refusal to apologise for comments on immigration and not endorsing the party leader.

Price had expressed concern about the large number of Indian migrants coming to Australia. Price also had a public disagreement with key Ley backer Alex Hawke.

Ley said shadow ministers were expected to uphold the standards she had set as leader.

“The Liberal Party I lead will respect, reflect, and represent modern Australia,” Ley said.

Henderson’s Defence of Price

Senator Henderson described Senator Price as “a great Australian” who had fought for marginalised communities, including Indigenous Australians.

“While Jacinta made a mistake in an ABC interview, she acted immediately to correct her error,” Henderson said.

“She reiterated her regrets about her mistake, as well as her commitment to Indian Australians, making it clear she never intended to disparage the Indian community.”

Henderson said the loss of Jacinta was a “big loss” and argued the matter could have been managed differently.

“I do regret that she wasn’t given greater support. There was a bit of a pile on, and I think that is regrettable,” Henderson said.

“It could have been handled better by the Opposition leader. If it had been nipped in the bud, I don’t think it would have run on. But Labor MPs were calling Jacinta racist, which is a disgrace.”

Leadership Tensions

Ley defeated conservative Angus Taylor in a narrow post-election leadership ballot, winning 29 votes to 25.  She is backed by the moderate and centre-right factions.

However, multiple Ley backers, including Hollie Hughes, Linda Reynolds, and Gisele Kapterian, no longer have a vote in the party room.

Senator Henderson explained the Liberal Party needed to support its own people, including women.

“The Liberal Party needs to be better at supporting our own, including of course female MPs and senators given the importance of attracting more women into the party and the parliament,” she said.

Henderson also said she was disappointed about the loss of of Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Coalition’s front bench.

“Jacinta is a great Australian who has fought tirelessly for the most marginalised in our society, including Indigenous Australians from remote communities,” Henderson said.

Following her removal from the frontbench, Price said she never intended to be “disparaging towards out Indian community” and wishes no ill-will whatsoever to the Indian community or any other migrant group.

“My concern – as it is for millions of Australians – is Labor’s mass migration agenda and its ramifications. My concern is not migration itself – it’s the magnitude of migration,” Price said. 

Hastie Says Knives Are ‘Not Being Sharpened’ for Ley

Her leadership has been under pressure since Senator Price’s removal, but Andrew Hastie said on Sept. 11, there was no challenge in play.

He insisted that “knives are not being sharpened” for Ley’s leadership.

“There isn’t a spill,” he said on 2GB.

Hastie explained that the rules of being a member of the shadow ministry are that you’ve got to “support the leader.”

Senator Hume also backed Ley, saying “she is the right person” to lead the Liberal Party.

“I think there has been mishandling on all sides, but the good news is we have cauterised the wound,” she told Sunrise on Sept. 12.

“We are going to move on now and talk about what’s important to ordinary Australians.”

Labor’s Response

Labor Health Minister Mark Butler agreed that a democracy functions well when there is a strong and united Opposition.

“They should be focused on holding us to account and also putting together a policy platform after an election where they did pretty poorly,” Butler said.

“It’s obviously up to the Liberals to determine whether next week is like the last week, which has been a pretty ordinary outing for them. But we’re focused in the meantime on getting on with our job of governing Australia.”