2025 New South Wales Liberal Party leadership election
21 November 2025
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The 2025 New South Wales Liberal Party leadership election was held on 21 November 2025 to elect the leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and, ex officio, Leader of the Opposition. Kellie Sloane was elected unopposed.
It is the second leadership election within the NSW Liberal–National Coalition in the span of one week. It is also the third leadership election taking place within state and territory Liberal Party branches in November 2025 (following the 2025 Canberra Liberals leadership election and 2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill).
This election did not result in any changes to the party's deputy or upper house (Legislative Council) leadership. This means that the Liberal leader and deputy leader will both be female. The deputy remains as Natalie Ward and the upper house leader will continue to be Damien Tudehope.[1]
Background
In mid-November, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Wahroonga MP Alister Henskens had been calling colleagues to seek their support for a potential leadership spill.[2] He failed to attract enough support from moderate MPs.[3] The potential leadership challenge caused speculation as to whether Mark Speakman would resign as leader.[2]
On 20 November 2025, following rifts in leadership and slipping poll performance, Speakman resigned as leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party.[3] He endorsed Kellie Sloane, shadow health minister and MP for Vaucluse, to succeed him.[4]
According to the Australian Financial Review, Sloane has the support of at least 19 of the 33 members eligible to vote in the election.[3] The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Sloane has the support of the entire Centre Right faction and almost all of the Moderate faction, while Henskens has near unanimous support from the Right faction.[5]
On 21 November 2025, ABC News reported that Henskens had withdrawn his bid for the leadership position to allow the party to unite around Sloane.[1]
Candidates
Leadership
Nominated
| Candidate | Electorate | Faction | Portfolio(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kellie Sloane | Vaucluse | Moderate[5] | |||
Withdrawn
| Candidate | Electorate | Faction | Portfolio(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alister Henskens[1] | Wahroonga | Unaligned[5] |
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Endorsements
- State representatives
- Mark Speakman, outgoing leader and MP for Cronulla[4]
See also
- 2025 New South Wales National Party leadership election
- 2025 Liberal Party of Australia leadership election
- 2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill
- 2025 Canberra Liberals leadership election
References
- ^ a b c Kidd, Jessica; Corvo, Shannon (21 November 2025). "Kellie Sloane elected NSW Liberal leader as Alister Henskens bows out". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
Natalie Ward will remain as deputy leader and Damien Tudehope will remain as the leader of the opposition in the upper house.
- ^ a b Smith, Alexandra and Maddison, Max (18 November 2025). "Killing season arrives in NSW as Liberals prepare for new leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
Several Liberals confirmed Henskens had been actively calling colleagues to seek their support for his tilt at the top job, arguing they should disregard factional allegiances and back him. It is unclear how much support he has, but some Liberals suggest he could have several votes in the party room.
- ^ a b c Karp, Paul (20 November 2025). "Kellie Sloane set to lead NSW Liberals after Speakman quits". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ a b Smith, Alexandra; Maddison, Max; and McSweeney, Jessica (20 November 2025). "Speakman quits, endorses Kellie Sloane as NSW Liberal leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Maddison, Max (19 November 2025). "The numbers game: Inside the NSW Liberals' leadership stalemate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 21 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.