☕️ The leadership spill, explained

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Angus Taylor has confirmed he will challenge Sussan Ley for leadership of the Liberal Party.

Taylor resigned from the frontbench on Wednesday night, which allowed him to launch a leadership run.

Here’s what you need to know.

A spill is the nickname for a vote on the leadership of a parliamentary party.

Spills generally happen when there is discontent around the current leadership.

The spill may involve the leader of the party, or the leader and their deputy leader.

Both the Coalition and Labor have seen multiple leadership spills over the years, in government and in opposition (Gillard v Rudd, Turnbull v Abbott, Morrison v Turnbull, Albanese v Shorten).

When it becomes clear there is a challenge for the party leadership, the leader calls for a meeting with all members of the party.

This meeting is held in the party room, a physical space at Parliament where parties meet to discuss issues without the media present.

The leadership positions are declared vacant, and nominations for the roles are called.

Whoever receives 50% of votes plus one becomes the leader.

Taylor resigned from the frontbench on Wednesday, freeing him to launch a challenge.

On Thursday morning, multiple media outlets reported the resignations of Liberals Matt O’Sullivan, Phillip Thompson, Jonno Duniam, James Paterson, and Claire Chandler from the frontbench (not from the party).

Shortly afterwards, Thompson delivered a spill motion request to Ley, telling media the party is in a “death spiral” and “Angus Taylor has the ability to get the party out of it.”

Taylor then posted a video to social media with the caption: “Why I am running for Leader of the Liberal Party.”

“The Liberal Party has lost its way,” he began.

Taylor said he believes “we need a strong and decisive leadership”.

“I’m committing myself to the cause of restoring our party so that it can be the party that Australians respect and deserve,” he finished.

The party room meeting will be held at 9am this morning.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, Sam and Billi unpack the Liberal leadership spill.

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U.S. Democrats will introduce ‘Virginia’s law’ to Congress, a bill to end the statute of limitations on sexual assault claims in civil courts.

It would allow victim-survivors to sue alleged perpetrators regardless of how much time has passed since the abuse.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the bill alongside family members of alleged victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including the late Virginia Giuffre.

Giuffre accused Epstein and the former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor.

Jeffrey Epstein was a well-known American hedge fund manager and a convicted sex offender. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in a controversial deal to charges related to child sex trafficking. He served 13 months in jail.

In 2019, police arrested him again on new federal sex trafficking charges. Epstein was denied bail and died in his jail cell while awaiting trial. He was known to be friends with an array of high-profile politicians, celebrities, and the wealthy.

Giuffre spoke out about alleged trafficking and sexual assault experienced at the hands of Epstein when she was a teenager.

In 2015, Giuffre brought a defamation case against Epstein’s former partner and fellow convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. It was settled outside of court.

In 2022, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor settled a lawsuit with Giuffre over claims Epstein trafficked and forced her to engage in sexual activity while she was underage.

Mountbatten-Windsor denies any wrongdoing.

In April 2025, Giuffre was found dead on her property 20km north of Perth. Police determined she died by suicide, aged 41.

Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, published in October, detailed her experiences with Epstein, Maxwell, and Mountbatten-Windsor.

This included alleged “orgies” with Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor and other girls, as well as “torture” and assault.

Giuffre alleged she had sex with Mountbatten-Windsor on three separate occasions.

In a 2019 BBC interview, he said: “I have no recollection of meeting her.”

On Tuesday (local time), Democrat Senator Schumer announced that he would bring ‘Virginia’s law’ – named in honour of Giuffre – to Congress.

The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations for federal civil sexual abuse cases.

A statute of limitations sets a deadline for taking legal action.

It means victims only have a certain amount of time to report a crime or file a lawsuit against their perpetrator, even if an offence was committed.

In the U.S, different states have different time limits on civil sexual assault cases, often dependent on the age of the victim.

For example, in Texas, the statute of limitations is five years for adult victims. For child victims, the statute is 30 years after they turn 18.

‘Virginia’s law’ would erase the statute of limitations for adults and minors in federal cases.

Schumer held a press conference, surrounded by the family members of alleged Epstein victims, including Giuffre’s brother Andrew Roberts.

Announcing the bill, Schumer said: “Our law makes clear that abusers and those that enabled them cannot escape responsibility by running out the clock ... time does not erase harm.”

Roberts began his speech saying: “Today, we give Virginia her voice back.”

“Survivors deserve justice, not expiration dates,” he added.

The Republican Party holds a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives (known as the House).

As Schumer is a Democrat, the bill would need support from Republican lawmakers to pass.

In November, Republicans and Democrats voted in support of measures to release the Epstein files, triggering the publication of millions of documents.

Considering this history, the law could receive bipartisan support.

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Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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This means he enters the final on Saturday as one of the favourites to win gold. James called the competition the most competitive halfpipe event in Olympic history and said: “It's the finals so you've got to bring something special and that's what I plan to do." A gold in Italy would ​make him Australia's most decorated Winter Olympian. Fellow Australian Valentino Guseli qualified in sixth place, and will also be competing in the finals on Saturday.

Reporting by George Finlayson and Billi FitzSimons.

Just months after being found guilty of credit card fraud against her own teammate, France’s Julia Simon claimed Olympic gold in the women's 15km biathlon at Milano Cortina 2026.

Simon received a €15,000 ($AU25,000) fine and a three-month suspended sentence last October for fraudulently spending over €2,000 using card details belonging to teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who finished 80th in the same race.

The team’s physiotherapist was also a victim of Simon’s criminal activity.

Reporting by George Finlayson.