Mark Parton and Deborah Morris talk to the media after being elected to the leadership of the Canberra Liberals. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
UPDATE, 3:40 PM: New Canberra Liberals Leader Mark Parton said he and his deputy, Deborah Morris, were committed to leading a unified party to the 2028 election.
“I’m absolutely sick to death of having conversations about internal party matters because I can tell you that people out in the suburbs are not having those conversations,” he told journalists.
“I am here, along with Deborah Morris, to get nine parliamentary members on the same train heading forward so that we can take on the government in 2028.”
He acknowledged the party had been divided, but former leaders Leanne Castley and Jeremy Hanson had offered a circuit breaker by resigning and paving the way for a unity ticket.
Mr Parton did not believe that division was ideological, offering his own perspective on the party dynamics.
“I think in recent months my party’s been divided by a line that separates people who hang on to shit and people who leave shit behind, and it is time to leave shit behind, ” he said.
The party’s best media performer, Mr Parton has long been considered leadership material but has either not had the numbers or demurred from taking on the role.
But he said the time had come to step up with the party needing a fresh start.
“It’s a really important time, and I think it’s required now, and I was elected to serve the people who voted for me, the people who didn’t vote for me, and the party, and I see this is the best way to serve all of those people,” Mr Parton said
“The speaker’s gig, it’s a tough gig. This one’s much harder, and it would have been very easy for me to just say, ‘No, I’m just going to sit here in the speaker’s office, I’m just going to roll along’, but I was definitely required and I’m up for the challenge.”
Mr Parton and Ms Morris offered a unity ticket. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Mr Parton said he would operate differently from Ms Castley as leader.
“It is going to be a party room which is open and robust, and we’re not going to agree with everybody all the time, but I’ve been placed in this position as a unifier, and unify is what I will do,” he said.
Mr Parton said it was premature to discuss policy objectives under his leadership, but he did not think there would be much change to the party’s policy direction.
Asked if the ACT was headed to another light rail election, Mr Parton would only offer, “time will tell”.
Shadow cabinet positions could not be decided until a new Speaker was elected on 2 December, but he stated that Elizabeth Lee and Peter Cain were no longer suspended from the party room, although he could not confirm whether they would rejoin the shadow cabinet.
“I’ve had conversations with both Elizabeth and Peter, and I’m extremely confident that they will play a greater role,” he said.
Ms Morris said the Canberra Liberals had a moral obligation to ensure that a viable Liberal alternative would take government in the next election, pinpointing housing, crime and the budget as key issues.
“Too many young people fear that they won’t be able to buy a home of their own one day,” she said.
“We’ve got more than 50 per cent of Canberrans saying that they’re afraid in their own community, and we have a budget that’s out of control, so we have a very important job ahead of us to secure government.”
Ms Morris said Ms Castley and Mr Hanson made a very difficult but honourable decision to step aside in the best interests of not just the party, but of the broader Canberra community.
“We do have a really incredible and important job ahead of us, and that is to defeat the Labor Government in the 2028 election,” she said.
“That is a responsibility that we take very, very seriously, and Mark has the vision to lead us into doing that, and I will be doing everything that I can to support him in that.”
Mr Parton saw no problem in both he and Ms Morris being southside MLAs from Brindabella.
“Certainly won’t matter for the people of Tuggeranong,” he said.
Mr Parton also paid tribute to the former leadership team’s selflessness, saying he looked forward to working closely with them in the future.
Acting Chief Minister Yvette Berry said the new leadership change 12 months after the election only showed how entrenched the party divisions were.
“While the Liberals are focusing on themselves, we will continue to work on our progressive, long-term vision for our city.”
Ms Berry said Labor was focused on community priorities, such as increasing housing supply, improving access to primary health care, and building the infrastructure our growing city needs.
-Ian Bushnell
Mark Parton and Deborah Morris on 31 October. Photo: Mark Parton Facebook.
UPDATE, 2 PM: Mark Parton has been elected the new leader of the Canberra Liberals, with Deborah Morris as his deputy leader, following a party-room meeting this afternoon.
Parton, a former radio host for 2CC and long-time Tuggeranong resident, was first elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly in 2016 as a Member for Brindabella.
He has also served as Speaker since 6 November 2024, the eighth person to hold the title.
At the last ACT election in October 2024, Parton recorded the second-most votes in his own name behind Chief Minister Andrew Barr, with Parton’s 9606 votes (one quota in his own right) compared to Barr’s 10,337 votes (1.3 quotas in his own right).
Morris, also a member for Brindabella, was elected to the Assembly for the first time at the October 2024 election.
The pair thanked Leanne Castley and Jeremy Hanson – who stood down from the leadership earlier today – for their work over the past 12 months, and promised to “strengthen the cohesion within our party”.
“By encouraging open dialogue, valuing diverse perspectives, and finding common ground, we can reinforce our shared purpose,” Parton said in a statement.
“Our priority remains clear: continue building an alternative government that delivers for the ACT.”
A new Speaker for the Legislative Assembly will be decided soon.
Jeremy Hanson and Leanne Castley have announced they’re stepping down as deputy leader and leader of the Canberra Liberals. Photo: Leanne Castley, Facebook.
12 PM: The leader and deputy leader of the Canberra Liberals have stood down after just a year in the job.
In a joint statement this morning, Leanne Castley and Jeremy Hanson said they had made the decision to quit the party leadership to give the Canberra Liberals “the best possible chance of success in the 2028 election”.
“A vote will be held to elect a new leadership team, and neither of us will be contesting any leadership positions. We extend our full support and best wishes to those who will take on these important roles.”
The pair declined to comment further, “in the spirit of ensuring a genuine fresh start for the new team”.
Leanne Castley, a member for Yerrabi, took over from Elizabeth Lee as party leader after the Canberra Liberals lost the October 2024 election. Castley had previously been deputy leader, a position Jeremy Hanson, a member for Murrumbidgee, then took.
