Updated ,first published
The resignation of former Liberal leader Sussan Ley has triggered a multimillion-dollar byelection battle between the Nationals, Liberals, One Nation and potentially two popular independents spruiking their case for the regional NSW seat of Farrer.
Ley, who officially announced her resignation on Friday after being toppled earlier this month, put the heat on Taylor to retain the seat as she subtly criticised the justification for her removal by pointing out her successor’s “immediate re-adoption” of her policies and principles.
Barnaby Joyce, who joined One Nation last year in a high-profile defection from the Nationals, said his party was “absolutely” primed for a big spending campaign to promote a raft of rural polices. His new party is backed by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, while the Liberals have already amassed a $250,000 war chest left over from Ley’s fundraising efforts.
People close to the campaigning said the Liberals spent in the order of $500,000 in 2010 the last time the two Coalition partners did battle for a seat in southern NSW’s inland farming regions, when Nationals MP Michael McCormack entered parliament as the member for Riverina.
The Nationals are seeking to turn the big spending duel between One Nation and the Liberals to their advantage, with leader David Littleproud declaring his party would mount a grassroots campaign because “we don’t bring billionaires that are going to dictate policy to us”.
The byelection, to be held in coming months, will likely feature two high-profile independents as well: Michelle Milthorpe, who is backed by the Climate 200 fundraising vehicle and cut into Ley’s vote in the 2025 election, and Helen Dalton, who represents the overlapping seat of Murray in the NSW parliament.
Dalton had been touted as a One Nation candidate but was missing from the list when One Nation announced its candidate list for preselection on Friday.
The party will next week select its candidate for the byelection from three nominations. The favourite is David Farley, 69, who headed Australia’s biggest beef producer, Australian Agricultural Company, for three years from 2009.
Hoping One Nation can win its first lower house seat, Joyce was this week already talking about forcing doctors to work in the bush.
“We’ve already put the cat among the pigeons and talking about regional health,” Joyce said. “The shock-horror reaction didn’t come from regional people, it came from [doctors] who said ‘how dare you take away my opportunity to practice in Double Bay immediately after graduating from Sydney University’.”
Littleproud said the Nationals would mount a strong campaign against the Albanese government’s policies to buy back water from the irrigation farms in the district to restore the health of the Murray-Darling river system. The Nationals held Farrer before Ley snatched the seat for the Liberals in 2001, winning by just 206 votes and then serving as MP for 25 years.
Ley’s official resignation came two weeks after her ousting from the Liberal leadership by Taylor, who now faces an immediate test of his leadership in the byelection.
“There’s no question that the Farrer byelection is going to be very, very tough. As I said, we I came into this role with the Liberal Party in the worst circumstances it’s faced since 1944, and we’ve got a tough job ahead of us,” Taylor said on Friday.
Ley released a statement on Friday morning reflecting on her time as the first woman to lead the Liberal Party, as well as emphasising the importance of the Liberal Party clinging onto Farrer, saying a win was “vital for the betterment and ongoing strength of our region”.
“The seat of Farrer was created in 1949. At every one of the 30 elections since, through different and
challenging circumstances, it has been held without exception by the Liberal Party (for 60 years) and the National Party [for 17 years],” she said.
“I know that Angus Taylor can and will ensure the party continues to enjoy the support, trust and confidence of the people of Farrer.
“I believe my election as the first woman to ever lead not just the federal Liberal Party, but any federal opposition, is a milestone for all women to be proud of. I hope I have paved the way for the next woman to be elected to, and succeed in, both these roles.”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
Paul Sakkal is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and has won Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect via X or email.
