Sussan Ley for Elizabeth Lee: Liberals miss ACT representation and say 'It's Time' for territory 2024 win

In an interview with The Canberra Times, Ms Ley said the Liberal party misses the federal ACT representation which was lost in the 2022 election when independent David Pocock was voted in over then-Liberal senator Zed Seselja.

Ms Ley, who is tasked with improving the Liberal's standing with female voters and leading the fight to win back federal seats lost to the "teal" independents, has also spoken about her own ambition and insists the party is acting on Liberal election review recommendations to get voters back.

The Canberra-educated MP insists Liberal state branches are moving on their "women problems" and she has seen good examples that bring women into the party such as Ms Lee in the ACT.

"She is the shining example of a woman leader who, I believe, can and will win in 2024," she told The Canberra Times.

"It'll be 10 years of the Barr government. There will be a huge 'It's Time' factor ... even without the arrogance of the ACT government that I see right now.

"So we've got a really terrific example of a woman who just exemplifies so much in Elizabeth Lee and I catch up with her regularly and I'm absolutely backing her."

Ms Ley is critical of the ACT government's forced acquisition of Calvary Public Hospital Bruce to integrate the hospital with the public health system.

A recent outpatient at Calvary for a broken thumb, she said Canberrans deserve a first-class health service.

"There's an emergency service at Calvary and anything that puts that at risk in a way that ... it appears to me that the ACT government has done this without consultation which is one of the reasons why I find its attitude so arrogant," she said.

"That it feels as if it's decided that this is something that it can do without consulting the very people that actually rely on the health service there.

"I'm not going to, by the way, point the finger of criticism at Canberra hospital, but the health system is strengthened by having two organisations working together."

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Ms Ley, the member for the southern NSW seat of Farrer, has been touring the country as the Liberals seek to win back some of the 13 city-based seats they lost at the last election.

She insists there will be bold policy initiatives in areas such as superannuation, home ownership, financial literacy training and childcare as she pitches the Liberals can be the "party of choice for women".

But it is not just House seats on her list, it is also the ACT Senate spot where the Liberal brand needs to be restored and she sees some overlap between federal and territory politics.

"Yes, we want federal representation in the ACT and we miss it and I've worked with good senators for the ACT over many years," she said.

"I know that right now the Liberal brand can be restored largely by Elizabeth Lee winning in 2024.

"Elizabeth winning in 2024 can be a great pointer to an ACT Senate victory in the future for us."

With the recent resignation of Karen Andrews, the deputy leader is the only female member of the Coalition frontbench who is not a Senator.

She said she is not eyeing off Peter Dutton's job as leader.

"I have the ambition to be a senior member of a Dutton government whenever the election is held. Some people are saying the end of next year so I'm saying early 2025," Ms Ley said.

"Because then we can do for the Australian people, not just Peter Dutton and I but the whole team, what we know is desperately needed at this challenging time in our country's history, both in terms of national security, economic efficiency, the levels of debt and the backing the aspiration and enterprise of ordinary Australians.

"So that's my ambition. I love being, what I call myself, the vice-captain."

Ms Ley sees the weekend Liberal preselection of the "formidable" Maria Kovacic to replace the late Jim Molan in the Senate as a key moment in the fight to get more women in the parliamentary party.

She also expects she will help the Liberals push back into the cities.

"Maria will help us win in the cities because she is not just a community leader in Western Sydney, she is an accomplished businesswoman with more than 20 years of experience across the commercial, public and not for profit sectors," she said.

"I'm very proud of what we present as a team of Liberal party members to the Australian public and yes, there's work to do, but we're up for it."

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