Speakman’s elevation to leader comes almost a month after the party was swept from power in its last stronghold on mainland Australia, ending a 12 year stretch in government.
, multiple sources said he was initially unsure about contesting the NSW job.
Even when he did decide, Speakman did not make a public announcement of his intention to run for the job until Friday morning when he entered parliament flanked by Ward and Damien Tudehope, who will return as leader in the upper house.Speakman’s elevation to opposition leader comes almost a month after the Liberals were swept from power in the party’s last stronghold on mainland Australia, ending its 12-year stretch in government.
The new leader will face a daunting list of immediate problems, including a division plagued by factional conflict over candidate preselection and a poor record promoting female MPs.The Sydney Morning Heraldumerous party figures threatened to boycott it because of objections to one of the two people put forward to run the reviewFormer planning minister Anthony Roberts, from the party’s right faction, had run on a platform of party reform but failed to secure support from the moderates.
Ward had originally intended to run for leader in the upper house, but was convinced to run for the deputy role. Her elevation will require the party room to approve a rule change because the Liberal deputy must be from the lower house at present. Tudehope returns as upper house party leader after he was forced to resign during the campaign when it wasFriday’s meeting was called by former premier Dominic Perrottet after a period of confusion over who within the party had the authority, after both lower house whips lost their seats at the election.
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