Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has hosed down criticism of her shadow cabinet picks, after dumping several conservative women and walking back from a climate commitment.

Ley promoted key political allies and demoted her conservative foes when she announced the line-up on Wednesday.

The highest profile demotion was Senator Jane Hume, following internal criticism of her role in the election loss.

Hume was booted from the shadow finance spot after overseeing a disastrous anti-work-from-home policy blamed for alienating women voters at the federal election.

She also supported Ley’s rival Angus Taylor in the Liberal Party’s post-election leadership race.

Ley has denied Hume’s demotion amounted to retribution, saying all of her decisions were about taking a “fresh approach” to win back voters.

“There are no scapegoats – Jane is a terrific and talented senator for Victoria,” she told Sky News on Thursday.

Ley also defended relegating Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the outer ministry. She was in shadow cabinet before the May 3 election.

After the poll, Price defected from the Nationals to the Liberal party room in an ill-fated attempt to become Taylor’s deputy.

She offered a less than glowing endorsement of the shadow line-up after she was given the defence industry portfolio on Wednesday, saying “there are probably some appointments that haven’t been predicated on experience or merit”.

Eyebrows have been raised in some quarters about Price’s shadow portfolio, given Taylor will be the defence spokesman and will likely work closely with the NT senator.

“This is going to be a terrifically important combination,” Ley said.

She also defended the number of women in her shadow cabinet, saying they still made up 40 per cent while noting she was the Liberal Party’s first female leader.

“Of course, I want to see more women in our party room every single day. I hope that my appointment sends that signal,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.

Coalition finance spokesman James Paterson said the number of women in leadership roles would fluctuate as the party rebuilt after its devastating election loss to Labor.

“There are new, younger, outstandingly talented women who are coming forward, who in time will be well placed to serve in future shadow cabinets and I suspect those numbers will go up again,” he told ABC radio.

Paterson also reflected on Price’s comments.

“Merit is the most important consideration in a reshuffle, but I’d be lying if I said merit is the only consideration,” he said.

“This is a political process and leaders have to balance states, they have to balance the House of Representatives and the Senate, they have to balance gender, they have to balance the philosophical composition of their party rooms.”

Despite Ley’s united front with Nationals leader David Littleproud, she still faces disunity across the Coalition over climate policy.

She has so far declined to recommit to a net-zero emissions target, but denies Australians will view the Liberal Party as a climate denier. Liberal moderates want stronger climate action to win back inner-city seats.

“Australians know, and that includes our team, that we must reduce emissions, but we must have a stable, reliable energy grid,” Ley said.

Littleproud also faces ruptures over net-zero, after the demotion of Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce. The pair have publicly criticised his handling of the Coalition relationship.

Littleproud’s claim that Nationals, which have six shadow cabinet spots, are undergoing “generational change” was mocked by Joyce, who was disappointed not to be in the line-up.

Joyce noted he was just three years older than Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie.

“I’m 58, I’m not 103,” he told Nine’s Today show.

“It’s not generational change.”

-AAP