Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has shared an emotional statement grieving her mother, who died early this morning.
Ley said her mother, Angela Braybrooks, had died in an aged care facility in Albury, in southern NSW.
“My family and I feel this loss deeply,” Ley said in a statement.
“Mum was a mental health nurse who helped so many people through her life.
“She taught me the values of resilience, self-reliance and persistence.
“Growing up in wartime Britain, Angela could never have dreamed that her daughter would become Australia’s first female Leader of the Opposition, but because of her, that happened this week.”
Ley said she had taken inspiration from her every single day of her life.
“It was a gift of fate that I was able to share Mother’s Day with my mum one last time on Sunday,” Ley said today.
“On Monday night in Canberra, our parish priest organised a FaceTime call, telling Angela she had to ‘hang on’ to see one more special moment in her daughter’s life. If she could do that, he promised her, ‘we’ll have champagne tomorrow’.
“On Tuesday, hours after I was afforded the enormous privilege by my Liberal colleagues of leading our party, I drove back down the Hume Highway to be at her bedside.
“Whilst mum was no longer verbal, she watched every moment of my press conference. As I walked back into her room that afternoon, her eyes lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will treasure forever.”
Ley thanked everyone who had given their condolences for the loss, and also thanked the staff at the Riverwood Aged Care Facility, where her mother died.
