Just hours after Sussan Ley pledged to lead a Liberal Party that “proudly supports women,” the party’s social media accounts were compromised, with explicit images briefly appearing on Facebook and Instagram.
According to a statement released on Thursday, the incident was the result of a cyberattack on a contractor’s account linked to the party.
“Overnight, the social media account of a contractor used by the party was hacked, leading to the posting of unauthorised material on the Liberal Party’s Meta accounts at around midnight,” the statement said.
The party confirmed that the offensive content was removed within 10 minutes and reported the breach to both Meta and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
“We apologise for any offence caused,” the statement added.
The timing of the hack coincided with the party’s efforts to reposition itself following ongoing criticism over its low number of female representatives.
In her first major address as Opposition Leader on Wednesday, Ms Ley emphasised her commitment to increasing women’s representation in the party and expressed openness to mechanisms such as quotas.
“We must be a Liberal Party that is proudly for women and made up of women. Our party must preselect more women in winnable seats so that we see more Liberal women in federal parliament,” she said.
“While I’m neutral on the exact methods, I’m absolutely committed to making sure it happens. What we’ve done so far hasn’t worked, so I’m open to any approach that will.”
