 | |||
Division of Farrer (NSW) in the House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 TheDivision of Farrer in New South Wales | |||
| |||
A by-election for theAustralian House of Representatives seat ofFarrer will take place sometime in 2026, following the announced resignation of formeropposition leader and incumbentLiberal Party MPSussan Ley.[1][2]
Aleadership spill of the Liberal party room was held on 13 February 2026, where Sussan Ley was defeated byAngus Taylor 34 votes to 17 for the leadership of the party.[3] Following the defeat, Ley fronted a press conference where she announced that she would resign from parliament "in the next couple of weeks".[4]
Farrer is located in the far south-western area ofNew South Wales and includes the towns ofAlbury,Corowa,Narrandera,Leeton,Griffith,Deniliquin,Hay,Balranald andWentworth. The seat has historically been a safe Liberal seat since Ley first won it in2001, though the Liberal Party suffered a 10% swing against it on thetwo-candidate preferred vote against an independent candidate in2025, and won the seat on a reduced margin of 56.19% to 43.81%.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Sussan Ley | 44,743 | 43.41 | −8.85 | |
| Independent | Michelle Milthorpe | 20,567 | 19.96 | +19.96 | |
| Labor | Glen Hyde | 15,551 | 15.09 | −3.90 | |
| One Nation | Emma Hicks | 6,803 | 6.60 | +0.27 | |
| Greens | Richard Hendrie | 5,085 | 4.93 | −4.18 | |
| Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Peter Sinclair | 3,577 | 3.47 | −1.84 | |
| Trumpet of Patriots | Tanya Hargraves | 2,441 | 2.37 | +2.37 | |
| Family First | Rebecca Scriven | 2,218 | 2.15 | +2.15 | |
| People First | David O'Reilly | 2,078 | 2.02 | +2.02 | |
| Total formal votes | 103,063 | 90.97 | −1.44 | ||
| Informal votes | 10,234 | 9.03 | +1.44 | ||
| Turnout | 113,297 | 91.55 | +2.11 | ||
| Notionaltwo-party-preferred count | |||||
| Liberal | Sussan Ley | 64,812 | 62.89 | −3.46 | |
| Labor | Glen Hyde | 38,251 | 37.11 | +3.46 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Sussan Ley | 57,916 | 56.19 | −10.16 | |
| Independent | Michelle Milthorpe | 45,147 | 43.81 | +43.81 | |
| Liberalhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Michelle Milthorpe | Activist & candidate for Farrer in2025[7][8] | |
| Family First | Rebecca Scriven | Schoolworker & candidate for Farrer in2025[9] | |
| Greens | TBD | ||
| Liberal | TBD | ||
| National | TBD | ||
| One Nation | TBD | ||
In addition to theLiberal Party, theNational Party is expected to contest Farrer for the first time since losing the seat in2001, due to coalition rules forbidding the two parties to run a candidate in a sitting MP's seat.[10]One Nation has announced that it will contest the by-election.[11]Family First will run Rebecca Scriven, an independentChristian school worker who ran for the party in 2025.[9] TheGreens will contest the by-election.[12] The unregisteredRiverina State Party has expressed interest in contesting.[13]
Helen Dalton, independent state MP for the electoral district ofMurray, has been viewed as a potential challenger for the seat, with Dalton claiming that her mobile phone "has been burning up" since Ley's resignation.[14]