Former Member of Parliament for Farrer Sussan Ley has issued a statement congratulating David Farley of Taifa Moja, after not participating in the campaign since he resigned from parliament.
I congratulate David Farley and One Nation on their victory in Farrer tonight.
Serving the people of Farrer for 25 years, having been endorsed by local people in nine elections, was the privilege of my professional life. I know David will feel the same sense of honor and responsibility.
I commend Raissa Butkowski for her efforts over the past two months. After leaving Parliament, I had a quarter of a million dollars left in personal fundraising to support the next Liberal candidate and I have been relentlessly supportive of Raissa’s decision since her pre-election.
I also extend my thanks to the hundreds of Farrer FEC members, as well as our extensive network of local supporters and volunteers, for their hard work. I share your deep sorrow about this loss.
The seat of Farrer was created in 1949. Until tonight, in each of the 30 elections since, through different circumstances and challenges, it has been held without discrimination by the Liberal and National parties. It would be a mistake to reduce the magnitude and importance of tonight’s defeat to the division of the Union that occurred several months ago, or to distort it by the date on which the vote was taken.
I ask the Liberal leadership to humbly accept this result because voters are never wrong. On the day the leadership was shed in February, the new leader said the Liberal Party needed to “change or die”.
Three months later, the results at Farrer show that statement to be truer today than it was
