Kellie Sloane has been elected as the next leader of the NSW Liberal Party.
For the first time in history, the NSW Liberals will have an all-female leadership team, with Natalie Ward retaining her role as Deputy Leader.
Sloane’s election to the leadership comes after Mark Speakman announced he would step down as leader on Thursday afternoon. Speakman resigned following internal pressure from colleagues and poor polling. Speakman has been leader since the last state election in 2023.
The decision to elevate Sloane was made at a NSW Liberal Party meeting on Friday morning after Alister Henskens removed himself from the leadership race on Thursday.
Sloane is a former television journalist and chief executive and is a first-term MP. She first entered the NSW state parliament in 2023 as the Member for Vaucluse.
“What a day. A few moments ago, a united Liberal party room endorsed me as the new leader and the responsibility is one I don’t take lightly. I’m ready to work for New South Wales, and I thank my colleagues for the faith and the trust that they’ve placed in me today,” Sloane said at a press conference.
She is a moderate and has served as opposition health spokesperson.
Recently, Sloane became a target of online abuse after she strongly condemned the neo-Nazi rally held outside parliament earlier this month.
Addressing the hate and death threats she faced, Sloane spoke to ABC radio at the time, saying she would “not be intimidated by this group or by people who support them”.
“I will not be bullied out of saying what I think, and I will stand up for people in my community and for the broader community of Sydney who don’t like hate,” Sloane said.