Newly minted Opposition Leader Angus Taylor may have secured the Liberal Party’s top job on Friday but his elevation hasn’t been met with universal applause.
A former Rhodes scholar, Taylor has carried a trail of controversy with him throughout his time in parliament, repeatedly facing questions about his conduct and his version of events.
In particular, several women who’ve dealt with him in life and politics have spoken out publicly, pointing to his loose relationship with the truth.
Below, we take a look at what these women have had to say over the years.
Naomi Wolf
First, there’s the infamous moment from his maiden speech in parliament, where Taylor condemned political correctness and made an inaccurate claim about feminist writer Naomi Wolf.
Taylor claimed he lived in the same corridor as Wolf during his time at Oxford University and that she had campaigned against Christmas trees at Oxford.
Wolf later clarified she was not at Oxford at the same time as Taylor and had nothing to do with the Christmas tree campaign. She did not appreciate Taylor’s mention of her and when it was brought to her attention, requested an official correction.
Dr Denise Meyer
Then, there was Dr Denise Meyer, a Rhodes Scholar for three years from 1990, who wrote in 2019 that Taylor had reacted with “injured outrage and sulky resentment” when she asked him about his intention to join a covert men-only drinking society at Oxford.
While Taylor had not crossed paths with Naomi Wolf at Oxford, Dr Meyer said she was an acquaintance of Taylor’s.
“Known for an exclusive ball where female students receiving sought-after invitations were rated for beauty/sexiness in a secret members’ competition, this not-so-secret club was populated with all the rowing club jocks and wealthy public school boys who dominated common room culture,” Dr Meyer wrote.
“As I recall, your reaction to having your choices questioned was similar then to your reaction when Wolf refuted your story and called you out on your language – injured outrage and sulky resentment. And seeing yourself as the one in need of an apology.”
Clover Moore
Also in 2019, Taylor was accused of using allegedly forged documents involving grossly inflated, incorrect figures to criticise Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore over her council’s travel costs, feeding them to the media.
Six months later, Moore said Taylor was yet to provide an adequate explanation for the incident, saying it was “beyond belief”. He denied responsibility for the incorrect figures during an investigation, but later issued an apology to Moore.
Hollie Hughes
In 2024, former Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes voiced some serious concerns about Taylor, saying he undermined Peter Dutton to boost his own leadership chances when he endorsed a challenger for her Senate seat.
“Peter Dutton has run a completely unified team. It beggars belief a senior member would go against the leadership in a successful attempt to disrupt the shadow ministerial team,” Hughes said.
“This is a message to colleagues that some people’s ambition is more focused on themselves rather than the betterment of the team.”
After the disastrous 2025 election for the Coalition, Hughes doubled down, blaming Taylor for the Coalition’s lack of credible economic policy.
“I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell,” Senator Hughes said.
“I don’t know what he’s been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative.”
The biggest issue — and I am hearing this from everyone I am speaking to — [was] the complete lack of policy and economic narrative was incredibly difficult for everyone out on the ground. People just had nothing to sell.
“Whoever was running that [expenditure review committees] process, nothing seemed to come out of it.”