Australian news and politics live: Sussan Ley most unpopular major leader since 2003, shock poll latest pain

Liberal Senator Jane Hume has delivered an excoriating message to her leadership, using a regular spot on Sky News to describe the dire Newspoll numbers published this morning as “disastrous”.

“Unless something changes, we will be wiped out… I don’t think that at this point there will be a single member of the House of Representatives from Victoria. There won’t be a single member of the House of Representatives from New South Wales. Something has to give,” she said of the 18 per cent primary.

“My message to my leaders is that if you have a rabbit in your hat, it’s time to reach for that bunny, because we cannot continue this way.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley left Senator Hume off the shadow frontbench after the election despite her being an experienced senior politician.

Senator Hume insisted she wasn’t calling for Ms Ley to be dumped but urged her party to release more policies and make it clear to voters what it stood for.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Australians currently have a poorer view of the Coalition because they were talking about themselves too much.

“They looked at the disunity and the back-and-forwards, and they marked us down (in the polls) because they saw us talking about ourselves,” Ms Ley told Sunrise on Monday.

“Yesterday, we drew a line under that. We said we’ve resolved our differences, we’ve strengthened our processes, they’re even better going forward, and we are squarely focused on the Australian people.

Ms Ley said “right-here, right-now”, the Coalition was focused on Australians and that the parties have the answers to fix Australia’s issues, including a migration policy, which the Opposition Leader says is coming soon.

Word around Canberra was that if the latest party polling for the Coalition fell below 20, the “trigger” would be pulled, ousting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

The latest poll put the Coalition’s primary vote at 18 per cent, with Ms Ley becoming the most unpopular major party leader since 2003.

Asked on Monday if she would last the week, Ms Ley said: “Yes, indeed”.

“Millions of Australians are frustrated, they’re angry, they’re doing it tough. We see that expressed through the polls. When they don’t see a clear, united message coming out of Canberra, they mark us down,” Ms Ley told Sunrise.

“I understand that. The Coalition is back together, and we are focused on the future.”

Asked if Angus Taylor would launch a challenge, Ms Ley said, “I’m not concerned”.

“I’m always looking outside this building to the Australian people who are counting on us.”