Sussan Ley has announced that she will be retiring from politics following her loss of the Liberal leadership this morning.
That means there will be a by-election for her seat of Farrer. I have converted my federal election guide into a by-election guide which you can read now, with no paywall.
Farrer was a National Party seat up until 2001, when former deputy prime minister and National leader Tim Fischer retired, opening the door to an inter-coalition contest.
Sussan Ley defeated her National rival by just 206 votes after preferences, and has held the seat for the last quarter-century.
The Nationals would undoubtedly be looking to win back the seat, but One Nation is also eyeing off this rural electorate. Barnaby Joyce has already publicly stated that the party will be running.
An independent, Michelle Milthorpe, also polled 20% at the last election and reached 43.8% of the vote after preferences.
I don’t think Labor will run, but between the Liberal Party, the Nationals, One Nation and possibly an independent, it should be a very complex contest.
