Sussan Ley flies herself to Canberra as divided Coalition returns

Sussan Ley might be bracing for turbulence inside Parliament, but she enjoyed a smooth landing on Sunday when she piloted her own flight to the nation’s capital.

The Opposition Leader, who got her pilot’s licence when she was just 19, flew from Albury to Canberra ahead of the new sitting fortnight.

Ms Ley uses a four-seat Cessna 182 to travel around her electorate of Farrer that spans 126,000sqkm near the Murray River, making it the second largest seat in the New South Wales

The WA electorate of Durack, held by Liberal MP Melissa Price, is the largest in the country at 1.4 millionsqkm.

Ms Ley is facing an internal party revolt over climate change policy, after the Queensland LNP voted on Friday to urge the Coalition to abandon support for a net zero motion.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Andrew Hastie backed a similar motion that passed the WA Liberal Party State Council in July.

A review of all policies is underway, but Ms Ley has warned the party must face reality after a devastation May election defeat.

“The Australian people sent us a message and we have heard it,” she told the LNP convention.

“Too many voters, particularly in our urban centres, could not see themselves in today’s Liberal party.

“That must change. We must modernise. We must broaden our appeal. We must reflect the country we seek to govern.”