Labor has announced that Penrith City councillor Garion Thain will contest the Badgerys Creek seat at the March 2027 state election. It is his second attempt at the seat, after he ran against Liberal MP Tanya Davies in 2023. Davies recently announced she would not contest the election, and the Liberals have yet to name a replacement. The Liberal Party currently holds the seat with a 10.5 per cent margin. Premier Chris Minns said he hoped the seat would fall to Labor.
Capricornia MP Michelle Landry has announced she will retire from federal politics at the next election. Her departure could allow Nationals leader Matt Canavan to move from the Senate to the House of Representatives. Ms Landry, who has held the seat since 2013, said it was the right time to step aside. She pointed to funding for the Rookwood Weir and the Rockhampton Hospital car park among her achievements. Canavan said Ms Landry had been a strong advocate for the region, and he did not confirm whether he would seek the LNP nomination for Capricornia in 2028.
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has not yet decided whether to run for Liberal preselection in Kooyong, the seat he lost to independent Monique Ryan in 2022. He still lives in the electorate. The analysis argues Kooyong is winnable for the Liberals next time, as One Nation preferences would likely favour the Liberal candidate. It also questions whether Frydenberg's combative style and comments on Covid spending would help or hurt his appeal to voters.
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Queensland MP Michelle Landry has announced she will retire from federal politics at the 2028 federal election. She has held the central Queensland seat of Capricornia since 2013. Nationals leader Matt Canavan, a senator, attended the announcement in Rockhampton but did not say whether he would seek preselection for the seat. Ms Landry said she would not nominate a successor, leaving that to the party. She also criticised One Nation, which could pose a serious challenge to the LNP in the seat.
Dumped Liberal candidate Grant Hutchinson has sent a legal letter demanding he be reinstated for Croydon at the Victorian election. His lawyers claim the party's decision to remove him breached its constitution. The letter says he was not given a right of reply and rejects claims he failed to disclose legal proceedings with his former law firm. Hutchinson was replaced by Toby Wooldridge at a recent meeting. The party has not commented, and opposition leader Jess Wilson said the matter was one for the Liberal Party.
Senator Jordon Steele-John has denied allegations of sexual misconduct raised by seven current and former Greens members in a letter to party leader David Shoebridge. He says an unofficial faction within the WA Greens is using the claims to undermine him before preselections. The WA Greens are commissioning an independent investigation, and a separate referral has been made to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. Steele-John says he has not been on leave, though Shoebridge says he understands leave was agreed. Steele-John also denies an earlier sexual assault allegation, which WA Police closed without charges.
Greens leader David Shoebridge says Senator Jordon Steele-John should take personal leave while allegations against him are investigated. Steele-John denies seeking or agreeing to leave. He says the allegations were made after a relationship ended and are untrue. He claims factional rivals are using resolved complaints to damage his party's preselection prospects. A Greens insider dismissed that claim, describing the dispute as damaging to anyone seeking a seat.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says he is the victim of a years-long smear campaign from within his party. He is under investigation over accusations about his conduct towards women, which the party's WA branch is now handling. In an open letter, he blamed factionalism and said he was not on leave, disputing a line in a statement by Greens leader David Shoebridge. Senator Steele-John rejects the claims and says the timing of a letter by seven party members was no coincidence, given an upcoming preselection.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has said he did not agree to take leave from the party room, contradicting leader David Shoebridge's account. Steele-John is being investigated over alleged inappropriate behaviour towards women between 2017 and 2025. Shoebridge's spokesperson said leave had been understood to be agreed and that it does not prejudge the WA Greens inquiry. Steele-John denies wrongdoing and accuses rivals of leaking misleading information to influence upcoming preselections. He also said a 47-page document was meant to counter a smear campaign.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has publicly denied allegations of inappropriate conduct towards women. He says he was the victim of domestic violence by a former partner who accused him of sexual assault. He says police closed the investigation with no charges. He also says he has been asked to take leave from the party room, but he denies agreeing to it. Party leader David Shoebridge says Steele-John remains on leave while independent investigations are completed.
Greens leader David Shoebridge says he understood that Senator Jordon Steele-John had agreed to take leave from his role. Steele-John denies this. He says he is not on leave and accuses party factions of weaponising allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women. Steele-John says he will take part in an inquiry commissioned by the WA Greens. Shoebridge says the key findings of that inquiry must be made public.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says he is not on leave, despite Greens leader David Shoebridge saying he had accepted leave from the party room. Steele-John accused an unofficial faction within the Western Australian branch of leaking complaints about his conduct to the media in an attempt to oust him from the Senate. He said the complaints, which allege inappropriate behaviour towards women, are subject to an independent investigation. Steele-John said he was pressured by Shoebridge to request leave, calling it a bad call.
The NSW Nationals will run candidates against independents Joe McGirr in Wagga and Helen Dalton in Murray at the 2027 state election. Wagga businessman Richard Moffatt has withdrawn from seeking preselection in Wagga, saying now is not the right time for him. He said his ambitions remain and he may consider running in another cycle. NSW Nationals state director Tory Mencshelyi said candidates are expected by December and that the party cannot take any seat for granted.
The NSW Nationals have chosen regional publisher Lucie Wightman as their candidate for the Barwon electorate at the March 2027 state election. The seat is currently held by independent MP Roy Butler. Ms Wightman, who lives in Gilgandra, bought the Gilgandra Weekly in 2016. She has named regional health and medical services, road and infrastructure spending, and the protection of regional communities as her main priorities. NSW Nationals Leader Gurmesh Singh welcomed her to the team.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party has added two new candidates to its upper house ticket ahead of the 2027 New South Wales state election. Josh Pracy, who runs an online firearms marketplace, and Charlie de Villiers, president of the Underwater Skindivers and Fishermen's Association, join sitting MPs Mark Banasiak and party leader Robert Borsak. Party leader Robert Borsak said the pair would strengthen advocacy for firearms owners and recreational fishers. The party's best result came at the 2019 state election, but three MPs left in 2022 to sit as independents.
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Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling says he will seek preselection for the next election, despite unresolved assault and breach of bail charges. The Darwin-based Member for Solomon was charged with two counts of assaulting Northern Territory Administrator David Connolly at the NT Thai Grand Festival in July, and with breaching his bail in August. Gosling denies all the allegations. His lawyer has said he will ask prosecutors to withdraw the charges due to insufficient evidence. Gosling says his arrest has been politicised and that he will keep representing the people of Solomon through normal party processes.
Byron Shire councillor Janet Swain has launched her campaign as Labor's candidate for the state seat of Ballina at the March 2027 NSW election. NSW Labor announced her candidacy on Friday, October 9, after she won party preselection last month. Swain said housing, services and opportunities for local families would be her priorities. She has lived in Byron Shire for more than a decade and has taught music in local primary schools for 12 years. Ballina is currently held by Greens MP Tamara Smith, who will not contest the next election.
