Overview
- Sloane was chosen unopposed by the Liberal party room on Friday morning, following Mark Speakman’s Thursday evening resignation.
- Speakman began the day vowing to stay but stepped down after colleagues pressed for “renewal,” endorsing Sloane to succeed him.
- A recent Resolve/Sydney Morning Herald poll put the Coalition’s primary vote near 28%, a slump senior Liberals cited as a key trigger for change.
- Powerbrokers held urgent talks this week as Alister Henskens canvassed support, with multiple reports indicating Sloane had the numbers and Henskens later opting not to run.
- The handover comes as the Coalition faces wider instability, with Gurmesh Singh replacing Dugald Saunders as Nationals leader and policy divergences persisting over net zero by 2050.