Kellie Sloane, the member for Vaucluse and a former television journalist, has been elected unopposed as the new leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, replacing Mark Speakman. The 52-year-old first-term MP was endorsed by Speakman, who resigned on Thursday evening, acknowledging the party's survival was under threat and praising Sloane as 'a great communicator' with 'enormous leadership potential'.
Sloane's election follows months of speculation and a drawn-out leadership challenge. On Friday morning, she delivered a succinct message: 'What a day!', before thanking colleagues and stating she was 'ready to work for NSW'. Her media-savvy approach, honed during her 13-year career at Nine Network, was evident in the careful management of her leadership announcement.
Sloane began her career as an ABC cadet in Adelaide after studying arts at the University of South Australia. She moved to Sydney in 1997 to work as a reporter at Nine, later presenting the Today program and Nightline. After leaving journalism in 2010, she served as chief executive of educational non-profits before entering politics. She won the seat of Vaucluse in 2023 and has served as shadow environment minister and later shadow health minister.
Her leadership has drawn attention from Premier Chris Minns, who has frequently targeted her in parliamentary speeches, referring to 'the member for Vaucluse' 44 times since March 2023. Minns is expected to focus on her relative inexperience in politics as a key line of attack. Sloane's husband, Adam Connolly, a former News Corp journalist and adviser to John Howard, runs a corporate communications firm, which may require scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest.
