The New South Wales Liberals are expected to choose former journalist and first-term MP Kellie Sloane to replace Mark Speakman as the state’s opposition leader, after Speakman bowed to pressure and resigned.
Speakman, who began Thursday defending his leadership in a round of media interviews, stepped down at 5pm, saying he had been visited by Sloane, who had said she wanted to be the leader.
“A day is a long time in politics. Half a day is a long time in politics. And even a few hours are a long time in politics,” Speakman said.
“By this afternoon, it was clear that there was at least one person who had declared to me that she wished to be the leader of the Liberal party and a number of colleagues had indicated to me their preference that we have renewal and regeneration, and a new leader.”
A party room meeting will be held on Friday morning. Sloane is likely to either be elected unopposed or with a large majority. It is unclear whether right faction MP Alister Henskens will run.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
In his resignation speech, Speakman sought to position the NSW Liberals as distinct from the federal Liberals, exhorting his colleagues to stick to values like preserving the environment, supporting a net zero emissions target, backing multiculturalism and sensible policies to boost housing as the way to win over middle Australia.
Speakman said that being opposition leader was an extraordinarily difficult job, and that the odds had been against him as no opposition leader had won government after one term in NSW since the 1930s.
But he sheeted blame for the slide in his popularity squarely on the federal Liberals.
“I have done my best to make sure the modern Liberal party in NSW addresses those challenges [and] at least up until the May federal election, we were competitive,” he said
“I believe, despite the activity of a couple of dissidents who will always act anonymously, I had almost unanimous support in the Liberal party.
“Things have changed since the May election, where opinion polling has gone downwards and where the brand damage from the federal election has continued.”
Speakman urged the party to continue with the direction he had set: to make sure that the Liberal party engaged with gen Z, the multicultural community and with women.
“This is not about going left or right. This is about addressing the centre ground issues that matter to people and that matter to people at the moment,” he said
“Most of all, it is the cost of living. A huge component of that is housing affordability. But gen Z expects my generation to leave their world in a better place than we have it, and that involves environmental stewardship and responsibility, not denying science with your head in the sand.”
Senior party figures had become increasingly alarmed at Speakman’s inability to sell the Coalition’s message using his lawyerly and polite approach in parliament.
A Resolve Poll, published in November in the Sydney Morning Herald, showed the Coalition’s primary vote at 28%, which poll analysts said would translate to a thumping 58-42 win for Labor on a two-party preferred basis.
Under that scenario, the Coalition would lose up to 10 seats and retain less than a third of the seats in parliament. Many of the vulnerable seats are held by moderates.
Minns used question time on Thursday to praise Speakman and his support for net zero emissions by 2050. He said Speakman had demonstrated leadership in ensuring that his party remained committed to the target, despite the federal Liberals and the state Nationals abandoning it.
Sloane has Speakman’s endorsement and is understood to have support across the factions, including her own dominant moderate faction.
She has served as the opposition health spokesperson and scored wins against Labor by highlighting failures in emergency wards. The 52-year-old has demonstrated an ability to ruffle the feathers of the premier, Chris Minns.
In a statement, Sloane thanked Speakman for his endorsement and confirmed she would nominate as leader on Friday. She said she would not be commenting further.
Sloane would be the third woman chosen to lead a Coalition opposition since May. The federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, took the top job after Peter Dutton lost the election. Jess Wilson was elected leader of the Victorian opposition on Wednesday.
But she faces a steep learning curve during the parliamentary break on both parliamentary tactics and policy. With just over a year to go until the NSW election, the Liberals are yet to unveil key policies.
The Coalition has said it will expand the metro network, but has not detailed proposed lines or how they will be paid for, and its housing policy is only partially formed.
Speakman announced some sites for additional housing – notably proposals to redevelop Long Bay jail in Sydney’s east and areas near inner-west train stations – but Sloane would face challenges, with some of Labor’s plans for greater density in her electorate of Vaucluse opposed by local residents.
Sloane would take the reins of a fractured state Coalition. The NSW Nationals have broken with the Liberals by ditching net zero emissions by 2050, and the parties are at odds on other environmental issues, including culling wild horses in national parks and the boundaries of the Great Koala national park.
