Calls intensified for Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to replace Opposition Leader Sussan Ley after Ley removed Price from the Coalition frontbench on Wednesday over remarks the senator made about mass migration.
Price, the Coalition’s Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Defence, was stripped of her frontbench roles after senior party figures urged her to apologise for comments accusing Labor of bringing in "large numbers" of Indian migrants to boost its vote. Ley told reporters Price had "failed the test of the high standard" required for members of the shadow ministry and said Price had not provided confidence in her leadership.
Price said she had accepted Ley’s decision and expressed "regret in not being clearer" about remarks she made on the ABC the previous Wednesday, but she stopped short of a full apology. In a statement on Wednesday night she said she "never intended to be disparaging towards our Indian community" and said she wished "no ill will whatsoever to the Indian community – or any other migrant group." Price also told Ley she was disappointed that some colleagues had "disregarded the key point I was making about the damaging impacts of mass migration" and had instead "indulged agenda-driven media commentary."
The decision drew swift criticism from several prominent conservative commentators and former party figures. Sky News host and former Liberal staffer Peta Credlin described Ley’s handling of the matter as the "beginning of the end" of her leadership. Former federal Liberal MP Craig Kelly questioned calls for an apology and asked critics to quote Price’s exact words in context before judging them.
Dr. Stephen Chavura, a senior history lecturer at Campion College, called the move a "disaster for Australia," saying on social media that "Jacinta Price is Australia" and accusing both major parties of "throwing her under the bus to appease arrogant ethnic interests." Many supporters took to social media to express dismay and to call for Ley to step down and for Price to assume the leadership. One online commenter said they had voted Liberal for 50 years but were reconsidering their support, while others called Price "the real leader in waiting."
Within the parliamentary party, responses were mixed. Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson said he was "very disappointed" by Price’s removal but acknowledged Ley "had no other choice," while also saying he supported Price as a potential leader and hinting she could return to a prominent frontbench role "in due course."
Ley said in announcing the decision that Price’s failure to support her leadership was a key factor: "Confidence in the leader is a requirement for serving in the shadow ministry," Ley said. The removal follows days of internal discussion and public scrutiny after Price’s remarks prompted criticism from both inside and outside the Coalition.
The episode has highlighted tensions within the Liberal Party over messaging on migration and the handling of diversity issues ahead of future electoral contests. Price remains an influential and divisive figure within the party, and her supporters' calls for a leadership change underscore ongoing debates about strategy and direction within the Coalition.