Andrew Thaler
Andrew Evan Thaler is an Australian politician and was a candidate for the 2019 New South Wales state election in Monaro, 2022 Monaro state by-election, 2022 federal election in Eden-Monaro and the 2025 federal election in Eden-Monaro. He was a candidate for the 2025 Kiama state by-election, following the resignation of the former member Gareth Ward. He cites his suspension from his duties as a councillor as a reason he can campaign in this by-election.
Thaler is a broadcaster and owns a scrapyard.
In 2024 he was elected to Snowy Monaro Regional Council.
Thaler welcomed the resignation of council CEO David Hogan following the 2024 local government election.
Controversies
In 2022, Thaler pleaded guilty to intimidating a woman, but was not convicted, with the judge describing the events as "an absurd situation" and noting that "on all sides, this incident could have been handled better".In September 2024, Thaler was involved in a lawsuit triggered by an altercation with a campaigner for the yes vote in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.
Following the death of Clare Nowland, Thaler claimed to act as a spokesperson on behalf of Nowland's family but they denied this claim.
In April 2025, Thaler allegedly started a brawl between councillors after raising a motion calling for his neighbour's property to be investigated during a meeting of the council.
Thaler has been suspended three times from council for his behaviour and is banned from multiple businesses within the Cooma and Nimmitabel areas. Upon Thaler's third ban from council, he would have been disqualified from holding civic office for five years.
Thaler's behaviour has led to an investigation by the Office of Local Government.
Following Thaler's third suspension, he applied for a stay on 31 October 2025 which was subsequently granted by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 3 November. This means that he was not removed from council as planned.