Australia's Liberal Senator Jane Hume has broken her silence for the first time since being dumped from the shadow Cabinet, saying she was hurt both professionally and personally.
Hume was booted from her role in shadow finance when the Coalition unveiled their frontbench earlier in the week, and was relegated to the backbench when Sussan Ley reshuffled the shadow ministry.
This morning Hume told Seven's Sunrise that the decision hurt, especially coming from Ley.
"It hurts professionally because I was such a hard-working and prolific and high-profile member of the frontbench in the previous opposition,” she said.
“It hurts personally, too, because you know, Sussan and I are friends.
"But isn't this the point now? This isn't the playground. This is the parliament. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to make a difference."
Despite being relegated, Hume said that being on the backbench was liberating as it allowed her to speak her mind more freely.
"There is something very liberating about being on the backbench and being able to speak without having to stick to the party line and without having to stick to talking points," she said.
Despite the turbulence in the coalition, Hume said she is committed to helping the party get back on track.
“As my very wise mother would say, “Stop your nonsense, chin up, chest out, straighten your tiara and let’s get on with the job,’’ she said.
“The most important thing we can all do here now is get behind Sussan Ley, put our shoulders to the wheel. Because there’s a very big task ahead of us.”
Hume came under fire during the election for leading the Coalition's charge to order public servants back to the office full-time. The then Liberal leader, Peter Dutton quickly backpeddled on this plan.
Despite this, Ley quelled rumours that Hume was being punished for election mistakes and could someday become part of the frontbench again.
“I promised my leadership would be done differently, and it will be,” Ley said on Wednesday.
“I always said that I would harness the talents of my party room.
“I don’t reflect on private conversations. I will say that these are tough days and having been through many days like this myself in my parliamentary career, I recognise that.”
