Canberra Liberals


Liberal Party of Australia placeholder portrait.svg
The Canberra Liberals, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia , is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory. The party has been in opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001. As of 2025, it is the only state or territory division of either major party to be unrepresented in the federal parliament.

History

The first Liberal branch in Canberra was formed in order to field a candidate in the newly created Division of Australian Capital Territory at the 1949 federal election. The first meeting of the branch was held at the Albert Hall on 27 January 1949. The inaugural meeting of the Canberra women's branch was held on 29 June 1949. By 1961, there were three branches of the Liberal Party in the ACT, and a branch of the Young Liberals was created around the same time.
The party held a number of seats in the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly throughout its existence. In the first election under self-government in 1989 the Liberal Party won four seats. The Liberals were led in the Assembly by Trevor Kaine, initially in opposition but in December 1989 the party formed a coalition known as the Alliance with the Residents Rally that lasted from December 1989 until June 1991 when a dispute over school closures broke up the coalition and returned the parties to opposition. Kaine was briefly replaced as leader by Gary Humphries, but regained the position a month later. Two years later he was replaced by Kate Carnell.
At the 1995 election the Liberals won 7 seats and Carnell formed a minority government with the support of independent members Michael Moore and Paul Osborne. Carnell served as Chief Minister until October 2000 when she resigned in advance of a no confidence motion over the increased costs of the Canberra Stadium. She was succeeded by Humphries but the party lost power in the 2001 election. It has been in opposition ever since, having installed and removed multiple leaders including Brendan Smyth, Bill Stefaniak, Zed Seselja, Jeremy Hanson, Alistair Coe and Elizabeth Lee. The current leader of the party is Leanne Castley.
In the 2022 federal election, Seselja, who was the sole Canberra Liberals parliamentarian in federal parliament, lost his Senate seat to independent David Pocock. This left the Canberra Liberals with no representation in the 47th Parliament. A review into the territory division's defeat at the election would be headed by former WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan and former Victorian Liberal senator Helen Kroger. The review would include an examination of the Canberra Liberals and its electoral performance among different voter segments, and would propose strategies to regain federal representation.

Leadership

Deputy Leaders

Deputy LeaderDate startedDate finishedDeputy Chief Minister
Tony De Domenico19929 January 19971995–1997
Gary Humphries9 January 199731 January 19971997
Trevor Kaine31 January 199717 February 19971997
Gary Humphries17 February 199717 October 20001997–2000
Brendan Smyth17 October 200025 November 20022000–2001
Bill Stefaniak25 November 20022004
Richard Mulcahy200416 May 2006
Jacqui Burke16 May 200613 December 2007
Brendan Smyth13 December 200711 February 2013
Alistair Coe11 February 201325 October 2016
Nicole Lawder25 October 201627 October 2020
Giulia Jones27 October 2020January 2022
Jeremy HansonFebruary 20227 December 2023
Leanne Castley7 December 202331 October 2024
Jeremy Hanson31 October 202410 November 2025
Deborah Morris10 November 2025Incumbent