New deputy liberal leader Sussan Ley changed her name’s spelling due to numerology theory
The new Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley changed her first name because she thought it would alter her personality based on the mystical theory of numerology.
Ms Ley, 60, was born Susan Braybrooks but added a third ‘s’ to her first name after she left school.
She believed the change would lead her to have an ‘exciting’ life after reading about numerology.
The ancient belief system states that everything in the world is dependent upon the mystical properties of numbers.
The soon-to-be deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley (pictured planting a tree to honour the Queen in February) changed her first name because she thought she it would alter her personality
Ms Ley discussed her name change in an interview with The Australian in 2015 where she said: ‘I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality.
‘I worked out that if you added an ”s” I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring.
‘It’s that simple. And once I’d added the ”s” it was really hard to take it away.’
Ms Ley was born in Nigeria to English parents who migrated to Australia when she was 13 and later settled in Canberra.
She gained a commercial pilot’s licence aged 20 and became a stock musterer before working for the Australian Tax Office in Albury on the NSW-Victoria border.
The 60-year-old has been the member for Farrer in south-west NSW since 2001 and has served as minister for aged care, sport, health and most recently environment.
She has three children with her ex-husband John Ley, whom she divorced in 2004 after 17 years of marriage.
Ms Ley became deputy leader to Peter Dutton uncontested in a party room meeting on Monday.
Queensland Liberal MP Stuart Robert said he expected there would be more women on the Liberal front bench, following a reshuffle after former ministers lost their seats in the May 21 election.
‘We’ve got so many talented women in our ranks and you’d expect that talent to be recognised and rewarded,’ he told Sky News.
‘So absolutely, I’d expect far more women just because of the calibre of the women in the Liberal and National parties.’
The party room also discussed some of the lessons to be learned from the coalition’s federal election defeat.
‘The party room is the opportunity for everyone to get together, to have a conversation, to share how things have gone, not just to elect their leadership team,’ Mr Robert said.
Ms Ley (pictured holding a Tasmanian Devil as environment minister) was born Susan Braybrooks but changed her name after she left school to add a third ‘s’ to her first name
Sussan Ley was made Minister for Health under Tony Abbott (pictured in 2014)
‘I’m one of the few MPs who was actually here in 2007 (when the coalition also lost), so the time to provide some guidance on what it means in opposition and how we hold the government to account, that will come later.’
Mr Dutton has become the first Queenslander to lead the Liberal Party.
The Dickson MP had been touted as Scott Morrison’s likely replacement since the coalition lost government.
NSW Liberal senator Hollie Hughes says Mr Dutton will lead the party back to the centre-right as it looks to rebuild.
Former immigration minister Alex Hawke says the party had a strong history of containing both progressives and conservatives.
‘That’s a strength not a weakness and I think that blend is very important,’ he said.
Mr Hawke also denied the party had struck the wrong balance between the two at the election.
‘The regions struck very strongly with the Liberal and National parties, the suburbs and outer suburbs… very strong results in western Sydney,’ he said.
‘We were blindsided in areas of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Votes that went to the Greens, votes that went to the teals, this is something we have to look at, what policies will appeal to those people.’
Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews, also a Queenslander, says the leadership duo will offer the skills and depth needed to take the party forward.
Mr Dutton, a former police officer, spruiked his credentials for the job of opposition leader following his nomination.
‘In a prime minister you need someone who won’t buckle in hard times and will stand up for our country and I have proven that in the portfolios I’ve had,’ he wrote on Facebook.
Former Federal Sports Minister Sussan Ley and New Zealand captain Tim Southee pose for a photo in 2015
‘My work ethic is second to none and I have the skill and experience having served five leaders and have learnt from each.’
Mr Dutton has pledged to take the party back to its core values and represent the aspirational ‘forgotten people’ of Australia.
‘We aren’t the Moderate Party. We aren’t the Conservative Party. We are Liberals,’ the post said.
The Liberal Party has never had a leader from Queensland since it was founded in 1944.
Elizabeth Watson-Brown, the new Greens MP for the Brisbane-based seat of Ryan, said voters won’t be ‘enamoured’ by Mr Dutton.
‘The Liberal Party does need to do some soul searching,’ she told the ABC.
‘The general sense was that their campaign was sort of pretty disgraceful, there was a lot of culture-war baiting (and) inaction on climate change,’ she said.
‘The voters of Ryan will not necessarily have a particularly benign view of Peter Dutton.’
Federal Member for Dickson Peter Dutton arrives with his wife Kirilly to celebrate holding his marginal seat on election night