- by Maximus M
- The Guardian
- Issue #2190
The by-election results in the NSW electorate of Farrer are historic. One Nation has won its first seat in the House of Representatives joining Barnaby Joyce, ending the Coalition’s seven-decade stranglehold.
How did we get here?
Sussan Ley became the leader of the Liberal Party and Opposition after Peter Dutton’s catastrophic defeat in the 2025 Federal Election. Ley’s “moderate” stances weren’t acceptable to the Liberal Party’s right faction, resulting in a leadership spill, with Angus Taylor becoming the new leader of the Liberal Party and Opposition. Ley resigned after her defeat, leaving the seat of Farrer open for an early election.
What do the results show?
Obviously One Nation is able to win seats, having also won a seat in the recent South Australian state election. This needs to be kept in perspective: the Greens have won more seats without being treated as an approaching threat by mainstream media.
Media outlets have been treating the result as some kind of verdict on Labor, who didn’t have a candidate. The race in Farrer was between One Nation candidate, David Farley and Independent candidate, Michelle Milthorpe. Both the Liberals and the Nationals preferenced One Nation over the Independent candidate.
The preferencing has been put down to the Coalition’s belief that it would be easier to regain the seat of Farrer in the 2028 federal election against One Nation than against an Independent. Possibly this is based on long-lasting independent candidates elsewhere.
One Nation, a well oiled machine?
This is also clearly shown with One Nation candidate, David Farley. Farley is a blatant opportunist. Months before the election he attempted to join the Labor Party before joining One Nation. He has criticised Barnaby Joyce, calling him xenophobic. Its clear that Farley will not represent working class interests.
One Nation continues to grow, largely thanks to financial backing from Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, and being platformed by Australia’s legacy media. The upcoming state elections will show if Rinehart, the Murdoch press and others get their wish.
Conclusion
The Farrer result definitely shows dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party in the seat of Farrer, as well as some dissatisfaction with life in general. The Liberals giving their preferences didn’t decide the election, but they certainly helped. One Nation is not the party that the people of Farrer need. It’s the tool of ultra-rich donors like Gina Rhinehart, but you can’t blame voters for finding the Liberal and National parties uninspiring. J
