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Sussan Ley's attack on Anthony Albanese for wearing a Joy Division t-shirt has divided the Coalition, with some Liberal MPs privately questioning their leader's judgement. Several Nationals members have publicly disagreed with Ms Ley's criticism of the prime minister, while her detractors inside the Liberal party room argued it was a "troubling" sign of her leadership style. Ms Ley on Tuesday used a speech in parliament to accuse Mr Albanese of "displaying the wrong values" by wearing a shirt depicting the album cover of Unknown Pleasures by acclaimed post-punk band Joy Division. She cited the fact the band's name came from a term used to describe women kept as sexual slaves in concentration camps during World War II. Ms Ley insisted it was "not a slip of judgement" by the PM, as he had been told about the "dark origins" of the band's moniker on a podcast in 2022. It is understood members of the Australian Jewish community had privately raised their concerns with Ms Ley, who decided to make the speech in support of them. Shadow Infrastructure Minister Bridget McKenzie, who described herself as coming of age "listening and dancing to Joy Division and New Order", criticised Ms Ley's decision. "There's a lot to legitimately criticise the prime minister about — trillion-dollar debt, skyrocketing house prices and job losses in our heavy industrial sector — wearing a t-shirt isn't one of them," she told Seven. Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said he didn't care what t-shirt the PM wore. "I do care how he's doing for the country and I don't think a lot of joy is being felt by Australians right now," he said. This morning, Ms Ley stood by her criticism of the prime minister. "I don't take a backwards step on my comments and I don't know that people realise that the prime minister in wearing the t-shirt was well aware of the dark history behind the words on the t-shirt," Ms Ley said. Liberals privately question 'missteps' One Liberal backbench MP privately likened Ms Ley's attack over the t-shirt to her "ill-advised" call last week for Australia's Ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, to be sacked. "At some point we can't excuse this behaviour for panic, this is her leadership style and it's troubling," they said. A Liberal MP supportive of Ms Ley said her internal detractors were merely looking to "stir up trouble" over nothing. But another colleague said Ms Ley was at risk of her leadership being shaped by "small missteps" that could ultimately fuel a challenge to her position. Shadow Industrial Relations and Employment Minister Tim Wilson refused to be drawn into the debate, saying he was "not in the business of engaging in these conversations". Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg backed Ms Ley, saying Mr Albanese had done the "wrong thing" by the Jewish Australian community in wearing the t-shirt. "The Jewish community has been through hell in the last couple of years in Australia," he told 2GB. "I think [Mr Albanese has] got to be careful, he's the prime minister of the country, he's got to be aware of these things." Mr Albanese has defended his decision to wear the shirt, noting he had not expected to be photographed in it last week, insisting he was merely a fan of the band. "Only meaning is it's a cracking album," he told the ABC.
