Leanne Castley says she wants to run again as an independent for the Legislative Assembly after leaving the Canberra Liberals and has sought to dispel any rumours she had been approached by One Nation.
"I was at an event the other night and someone said, 'Oh no, One Nation is so happy. They've been wanting to meet with you.' I'm like, that's hilarious. I've heard from no one," the former opposition leader said.
Ms Castley, who quit the Liberals a month ago and whose claims of the party's toxic culture were flatly rejected by her former colleagues, said she hoped voters in her north Canberra electorate would return her as an independent in 2028.
"I'm hoping that the people of Yerrabi do understand that I have done the best I can to represent them and they'll back me in again as an independent," she said.
"I mean, there's talk of One Nation, there's talk of all of these other independents now coming out of the woodwork because it is ripe. We'll just have to wait and see and hope that I've been able to connect with enough people and that they know I'm trying to back them in."
Ms Castley said she had been shocked by constituents who had said after her move to the crossbench they would feel better about voting for her than before.
"Which has really opened my eyes as to the feel of the Liberals. And people say it all the time, it's difficult being a Liberal in this town. And I used to say, No, it's not, you just stand up for your values and what you believe in and you just own it and you're fine," she said.
"But I have been shocked by the people that have said, We did vote for you last time, I felt uncomfortable about it, but now that you're an independent, this is great.
"And even the people that I would never have thought had followed any kind of politics or media at all have said, Oh yeah, I heard in the news, good on you, this is great, this will be a good thing. So, obviously you only hear from people that are kind, unless you're reading comments."
Ms Castley on Friday launched Better Canberra, an online publication and forum of policy ideas, which she said was designed to better engage with the community on what they wanted to see from the territory government.
The first post said the site would share a series of conversation-starting ideas over the next six weeks.
"Financial pressures, like the cost of living and housing affordability, are getting worse; there are fewer opportunities to create or build something of your own; and budget pressures are forcing cuts to government services and jobs. Which means more people are giving up on the ACT: graduates look for work elsewhere, young families buy their first homes elsewhere, and entrepreneurs start their businesses elsewhere," the post said.
"This simply isn't sustainable. But nobody in the ACT has a plan to get us back on track and enable Canberrans to flourish."
Ms Castley said her time in the Assembly, to which she was first elected in 2020, had shown it was important to step back and look at the bigger picture.
"The thought for me is people are tired of mudslinging, cranky, 'the government are bad, they've done this', without any kind of resolution or solution or different plan.
The Better Canberra page was registered on Substack, a blogging platform, two months ago, before Ms Castley had left the Canberra Liberals.
Ms Castley said it was a project she and her senior adviser, Jonathon Deans, were doing regardless.
"It's been a project we've been talking about for a while to give Canberrans a different alternative to understanding that there are other ways to solve the problem that we're in without just accusing the government of terrible things," she said.
"Probably they may deserve all of that, but that's not my interest. It's important to look forward and have a plan for Canberra to make it better."
Ms Castley said it was a continuation from her budget reply speech in 2025 and would feature ideas that would have been coming out had she still been leading the opposition.
"This was my year to start launching policy and thought processes for Canberrans to understand who I am and what I believe government can be," she said.
Ms Castley did not rule out Better Canberra evolving into a political party of its own.
"I think that's something that we'll work out as we go. ... Is there a groundswell of interest on what we're doing? I think that's probably the best way to go about starting a party: have a name and a plan," she said.
Speaking to The Canberra Times on Thursday, Ms Castley said she had not been advised of an outcome in the matter of the members' code of conduct complaint she made after she resigned from the Liberals.
The Liberals' Chiaka Barry earlier this month said she was likely at the centre of a claimed threat of physical violence Ms Castley cited when she sensationally quit the party. Ms Barry said she did not intend to make a threat of physical violence.
Ms Castley this week said she had not heard from the Canberra Liberals looking for support despite Ms Castley's vow to continue sticking up for "Liberal values".
In a censure motion moved by the Liberals and Greens against Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry in the last sitting week, Ms Castley drew the ire of her erstwhile colleagues for siding with Labor and voting against the motion.
Ms Castley, who has been sharply critical of talks between the Liberals and Greens about forming government, said she hoped the Legislative Assembly was entering a more pragmatic period, where each issue would be considered on its merits.
"I know it's surprised other members who have tried to peg me in one hole or another," she said.
"And I prefer to talk about an issue on its merits and what the outcomes are for Canberra and Yerrabi particularly. And that's what I've said. Yes, I still have liberal values, which means I'm all for business and freedom and those sorts of things.
"If anyone comes at me that aligns with those values and what's best for Yerrabi, then I'm willing to chat with anybody."
