Brittany Higgins shares shock take on new Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has applauded the party's historical determination to elite a pistillate arsenic its leader.

Ms Higgins shared her thoughts connected caller Opposition Leader Sussan Ley becoming Peter Dutton's successor successful a poignant societal media station connected Tuesday night.

Ley won the enactment ballot earlier connected Tuesday with 29 votes - 4 much than shadiness treasurer Angus Taylor.

Shadow vigor curate Ted O'Brien won the deputy enactment presumption with 38 votes to 16 for Herbert MP Phillip Thompson.

Ms Higgins shared a station to her Instagram story which declared Ley the archetypal pistillate Liberal leader.

'This is simply a beauteous momentous day,' Ms Higgins wrote.

'Irrespective of your presumption connected her authorities and putting speech the 'glass cliff' conundrums - what a moment.'

Glass cliff typically refers to a strategy wherever women and members of number groups are disproportionately placed successful enactment positions.

Ms Higgins station came 4 years aft she claimed the enactment 'abandoned' her.

Critics connected Tuesday claimed Ley lone won the apical occupation successful bid to marque the Liberal Party look much progressive.

Ley swiftly addressed the criticism.

'I don't judge that,' she said.

'I bash accidental it sends a awesome to the women of Australia that the Liberal Party has elected its archetypal pistillate person but my docket is overmuch much than that.

'It's astir connecting with women and listening to wherever we went wrong.

'I volition accidental 1 of the hallmarks of my benignant arsenic lawman person and enactment successful parliament for the clip I person been present has ever been consultation and a beardown enactment ethic, but ever listening cautiously to what radical say.'

Ley has antecedently backed the thought of introducing a quota to assistance boost the fig of women successful parliament.

While she stopped astatine supporting a quota pursuing her predetermination to leader, she did telephone for a stronger pistillate beingness successful the party.

'I privation to accidental close present and present we request much women successful our party. We request much women successful the organisation, and we request much women successful this enactment room,' Ley said.

'Had we done amended astatine the past predetermination we would person outstanding women successful the enactment room.

'Our fortunes erstwhile it comes to electoral decision unluckily mean we suffer beardown women.'

Ms Higgins antecedently worked arsenic a Liberal staffer for then-Defence Minister Linda Reynolds during the Morrison government.

In 2021, she alleged her colleague Bruce Lehrmann raped her successful their boss' bureau successful Parliament House during March 2019.

Ms Higgins claimed the Liberal Party had 'abandoned' her pursuing the alleged battle and that she felt 'personally hurt' by Senator Reynolds' response.

She was yet paid astir $2.4 cardinal by the Commonwealth soon aft the Albanese authorities was elected successful 2022.

The pursuing year, Ley successful parliament accused Labor Senator Katy Gallagher of utilizing Ms Higgins' rape to 'profit politically' from the backlash against the Coalition.

'Were they alert of these allegations earlier they went to aerial and did they usage them to nett politically from?' Ley aboriginal told Sky News.

'In which lawsuit that's morally bankrupt, to politically nett from a rape allegation.'

Lehrmann has consistently and repeatedly denied raping Ms Higgins. 

At a Federal Court trial, Justice Michael Lee recovered that, connected the equilibrium of probabilities, Lehrmann did rape Ms Higgins astatine Parliament House connected March 23, 2019.

Lehrmann is appealing the verdict and that lawsuit remains ongoing.