Canberra Liberals: Difference between revisions

Political party in Australia

The Canberra Liberals, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Australian Capital Territory Division), is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001.^[1] As of 2025, it is the only state or territory division of either major party to be unrepresented in the federal parliament.

The first Liberal branch in Canberra was formed in order to field a candidate in the newly created Division of Australian Capital Territory at the 1949 federal election. The first meeting of the branch was held at the Albert Hall on 27 January 1949. The inaugural meeting of the Canberra women’s branch was held on 29 June 1949. By 1961, there were three branches of the Liberal Party in the ACT, and a branch of the Young Liberals was created around the same time.^[2]

The party held a number of seats in the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly throughout its existence. In the first election under self-government in 1989 the Liberal Party won four seats.^[3] The Liberals were led in the Assembly by Trevor Kaine, initially in opposition but in December 1989 the party formed a coalition known as the Alliance with the Residents Rally that lasted from December 1989 until June 1991 when a dispute over school closures broke up the coalition and returned the parties to opposition.^[4] Kaine was briefly replaced as leader by Gary Humphries,^[5] but regained the position a month later.^[6] Two years later he was replaced by Kate Carnell.^[7]

At the 1995 election the Liberals won 7 seats^[8] and Carnell formed a minority government with the support of independent members Michael Moore and Paul Osborne. Carnell served as Chief Minister until October 2000 when she resigned in advance of a no confidence motion over the increased costs of the Canberra Stadium.^[9] She was succeeded by Humphries but the party lost power in the 2001 election.^[10] It has been in opposition ever since, having installed and removed multiple leaders including Brendan Smyth, Bill Stefaniak, Zed Seselja, Jeremy Hanson, Alistair Coe and Elizabeth Lee.^[11] The current leader of the party is Leanne Castley.^[12]

In the 2022 federal election, Seselja, who was the sole Canberra Liberals parliamentarian in federal parliament, lost his Senate seat to independent David Pocock.^[13] This left the Canberra Liberals with no representation in the 47th Parliament. A review into the territory division’s defeat at the election would be headed by former WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan and former Victorian Liberal senator Helen Kroger. The review would include an examination of the Canberra Liberals and its electoral performance among different voter segments, and would propose strategies to regain federal representation.^[14]

Image		Name (birth–death)	Electorate	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Chief Minister (term)
		Jim Leedman (1938–2024)	–	1966	30 October 1974	c. 8 years, 122 days	N/A
		Peter Hughes (born 1932)	Canberra	30 October 1974	3 January 1977	2 years, 65 days
		Jim Leedman (1938–2024)	Canberra	20 January 1977	10 December 1988	11 years, 325 days
		Trevor Kaine (1928–2009)	—	10 December 1988	12 June 1991	2 years, 193 days
							Follett (1989–1989)
							Himself (1989–1991)
							Follett (1991–1995)
		Gary Humphries (born 1958)	—	12 June 1991	22 July 1991	31 days
		Trevor Kaine (1928–2009)	—	22 July 1991	21 April 1993	1 year, 273 days
		Kate Carnell (born 1955)	Molonglo (1995–2000)	21 April 1993	17 October 2000	7 years, 179 days
							Herself (1995–2000)
		Gary Humphries (born 1958)	Molonglo	18 October 2000	25 November 2002	2 years, 38 days		Himself (2000–2001)
							Stanhope (2001–2011)
		Brendan Smyth (born 1959)	Brindabella	25 November 2002	16 May 2006	3 years, 172 days
		Bill Stefaniak (born 1952)	Ginninderra	16 May 2006	13 December 2007	1 year, 211 days
		Zed Seselja (born 1977)	Molonglo (2004–2012) Brindabella (2012–2013)	13 December 2007	11 February 2013	5 years, 60 days
								Gallagher (2011–2014)
		Jeremy Hanson (born 1967)	Molonglo (2008–2016) Murrumbidgee (2016–present)	11 February 2013	25 October 2016	3 years, 257 days
								Barr (2014–)
		Alistair Coe (born 1984)	Yerrabi	25 October 2016	27 October 2020	4 years, 2 days
		Elizabeth Lee (born 1979)	Kurrajong	27 October 2020	31 October 2024	4 years, 4 days
		Leanne Castley (born 1974)	Yerrabi	31 October 2024	10 November 2025	1 year, 10 days
		Mark Parton (born 1966)	Brindabella	10 November 2025	Incumbent	12 days

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Status
1989	Trevor Kaine	21,088	14.87		4	2nd	Opposition
1992		45,203	29.03		2	2nd	Opposition
1995	Kate Carnell	66,895	40.48		1	1st	Minority
1998		68,221	37.83		0	1st	Coalition
2001	Gary Humphries	60,390	31.64		0	2nd	Opposition
2004	Brendan Smyth	71,083	34.81		0	2nd	Opposition
2008	Zed Seselja	66,861	31.56		1	2nd	Opposition
2012		86,032	38.90		2	1st	Opposition
2016	Jeremy Hanson	89,632	36.72		3	2nd	Opposition
2020	Alistair Coe	90,955	33.81		2	2nd	Opposition
2024	Elizabeth Lee	91,652	33.45		0	2nd	Opposition