Sunrise host Nat Barr has hit Opposition leader Sussan Ley with a brutal question, asking if her days as Coalition leader are numbered.
Ley was asked point blank about her future on Channel Seven’s breakfast program on Monday morning.
‘Will you survive the end of the week?’ Barr asked.
The question came after a Newspoll showed another dramatic drop in the Coalition’s popularity, and an even worse outcome for Ley, with her net approval rating falling to -39, making her the most disliked party leader in more than two decades.
The results could be weaponised by Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor, with murmurs in Canberra he could make a move to take over as the Liberal Party leader in a spill motion as early as Thursday.
The poll came just hours after Nationals leader David Littleproud and Ley fronted media to reveal their parties would come back together and the Coalition would be reunited.
Ley smiled as she told Barr she had no doubt her position was safe.
‘Millions of Australians are frustrated, they’re angry, they’re doing it tough and we see that expressed through the polls,’ she said.
‘And when they don’t see a clear, united message coming out of Canberra, they mark us down, I understand that.’
While standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Nationals leader David Littleproud on Sunday, Ley had described their reunion as ‘back together and looking to the future, not the past.’
When asked by Barr what Australians think of the Coalition’s internal struggles right now, Ley said she understood it’d been a ‘difficult week’ for people.
‘I think they looked at the disunity and the back and forwards and they marked us down because they saw us talking about ourselves but yesterday we drew a line under that,’ she said.
‘We said we’ve resolved our differences, strengthened our processes and we are squarely focused on the Australian people.’
The Coalition collapsed last month after Littleproud backed shadow cabinet members who refused to support the Albanese Government’s proposed hate speech legislation, marking the second breakdown since the 2025 election.
A Newspoll published by The Australian on Sunday night showed the Coalition is at risk of losing its status as Australia’s biggest conservative force.
The poll showed Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as easily the second-most popular party in Australia, with a primary vote of 27 per cent, compared to the Coalition’s 18 per cent.
Ley’s own popularity fared worse, with only 23 per cent of participants satisfied with her performance, compared to 62 per cent who were dissatisfied.
Ley’s net approval rating fell by 11 points to minus-39, making her the most disliked party leader in more than two decades.
The disastrous polling is said to have increased the likelihood of a leadership challenge this week as speculation looms fellow Liberal MP Angus Taylor will make a bid for Ley’s position.
Liberal Senator Jane Hume has also called for change, noting her party will not hold a single lower house seat in NSW or Victoria ‘unless something changes’.
‘The more we talk about ourselves, the less people listen to us. The government is getting away with murder on our watch … this poll was taken during a week when interest rates increased and we still can’t land a blow,’ she said on Monday morning.
‘It’s simply not good enough. No wonder my colleagues are going back to their electorates each weekend and saying, “I’m embarrassed. I’m sorry.” Something’s got to give.’
Hume was later slammed by Ley, with the Opposition leader claiming it wasn’t the ‘proper place’ to voice concerns about the party’s direction.
Liberal senator James McGrath also said he wouldn’t ‘sprinkle gold dust on cowpat’ when asked about the latest polling.
‘The polling is dire. It is horrible. It is terrible,’ he told Radio National.
‘But speaking as a former campaign director, I’m not surprised it’s this bad because we’ve spent three weeks having a very public discussion, talking about ourselves rather than focusing on the many failings of the Labor government.’