What Sussan Ley’s bus trip reveals about modern politics
by James Button · Australian Financial ReviewJames Button
Sep 4, 2026 – 8.00pm
Where have all the good politicians gone? I hear older people ask this all the time. Where’s our Bob Hawke or Paul Keating, Malcolm Fraser or Gough Whitlam – leaders who spoke their minds and did big things, not just twiddle the dials? Though some who ask are driven by pure nostalgia, they have a point: politics has changed profoundly.
I was reminded of this recently when I watched Sarah Ferguson interview Sussan Ley on 7.30, then read a long piece Ley wrote in this newspaper.
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- Political leadership
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- Sussan Ley
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