Liberal MPs question Sussan Ley’s judgment over Labor ‘henchmen’ claim

Sussan Ley’s suggestion that Labor pressure forced the cancellation of her planned tour of the embattled Tomago aluminium smelter on Friday is being flatly denied by the government, prompting Liberal MPs to question the opposition leader’s judgment after two of her recent attacks on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fell flat.

Ley visited the site near Newcastle that is at risk of closure because of high energy prices and met with Tomago CEO Jerome Dozol, but her tour of the facility, which media were alerted to on Thursday night, did not take place.

In a statement, a spokesman for Ley said: “It’s a worrying sign when businesses are too nervous to have an open conversation about policy for fear of political consequences.”

The spokesman would not elaborate on the reference to political pressure. Industry Minister Tim Ayres told this masthead no one from the government had pressured Tomago over the opposition leader’s visit. “We have no issue with anyone who wants to attend the site,” he said.

Earlier on Friday morning in Tomago, Ley was asked by a journalist whether a rumour of interference by Labor in her visit was true. Ley said: “I’m not reflecting on the Albanese government other than to say they need to get their act together when it comes to an energy policy that actually works.

“The Albanese government and their henchmen can play games all they like, and I am not interested in that. I am only interested in the workers, the production and the pride we should all have in an aluminium smelter which is the best in the world.”

A spokesperson said Tomago Aluminium remains committed to working with all stakeholders on its current challenges.

“Today, we met Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for discussions with Chief Executive Officer Jerome Dozol and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Newman about the smelter’s future,” the spokesperson said.

An opposition source said Ley’s office was not given any reason for the tour’s cancellation. One Liberal MP, who asked to remain anonymous so they could speak freely, said that Ley’s comments were the third time in two weeks the opposition leader had over-reached with her public criticism.

“When you get catapulted to the front of the line, she is now the party leader, you get called out for saying things that aren’t right that you might have been able to get away with in the past,” the MP said. “Sussan can’t get away with it now, and she is finding that out to her own cost.”

A second Liberal MP, who also asked not to be named, said that colleagues were already questioning Ley’s judgment and that the Tomago comments were part of a pattern.

“You can shoot from the hip as a backbencher, but you can’t just shoot from the hip as the leader because people will call you on it and you will get found out,” they said. “And Sussan is being found out.”

Ten days ago, Ley argued Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should fire Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, after President Donald Trump criticised him during an otherwise successful meeting between the two leaders. This week, Ley argued Albanese’s judgment had failed when he wore a Joy Division T-shirt while disembarking a government plane because the band’s name comes from a term for sexual slavery wings in Nazi concentration camps. Neither call enjoyed uniform support with Ley’s MPs, with several backing away publicly from both.

Tomago is Australia’s largest aluminium smelter and has become a major point of political contention after Rio Tinto began consulting on its potential closure by 2028 unless it could secure a taxpayer-funded rescue package. Owners blamed its current financial position on rising energy costs, and a slow renewable rollout as it faces a doubling of energy costs in coming years.

A government bailout for Tomago would be the fourth of its kind this year, after the government jointly funded a $600 million package to support Swiss mining giant Glencore’s Mt Isa copper smelter and refinery, alongside a $135 million joint package for Nyrstar smelters in Tasmania, and a $2.4 billion joint package for South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks.

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