Farley Sought Voices Talks on Farrer Preferences and Platform
David Farley sought cooperation with the Voices of Farrer movement before the last election, discussing preferences and a platform for farrer. Documents show he texted and emailed a coordinator in February 2024 about a campaign for both the federal Senate and the seat of Farrer.
Farley and Voices of Farrer
In a February 2024 text, Farley wrote that he would like to share some thoughts on a “Farrer platform” for a campaign for both NSW federal Senate and the seat of Farrer. In a separate email to a Voices of Farrer coordinator, he wrote that he would welcome discussion on the proposed management of preferences, whose and how to secure them.
He also wrote that “Sussan Ley with the position of deputy leader of the Liberal party and two-decade incumbent for Farrer will not go without a serious fight, that will be fought with a well-funded purse [sic].” Farley added that the next federal election must be on or before 27 September 2025.
Gathering In Griffith
Farley had earlier reserved a ticket to a Voices of Farrer event called Gathering In Griffith in September 2023 and added a small donation. He later said he had booked conflicting meetings and would not be able to attend, then wrote that he would “welcome meeting the team at Voices For Farrer in the near future.”
The Voices movement runs grassroots processes to find local candidates for independent campaigns for office. Later in 2024, Voices of Farrer endorsed Michelle Milthorpe as its candidate.
Ley and Milthorpe
The documents add context to a contest shaped by Sussan Ley’s resignation, which sparked the Farrer byelection. Ley had retained Farrer at the 2022 election on a 66-34 two-party margin, then held it again in the later 2024 contest on a 56-44 margin.
Farley’s position shifted again in 2025, when he endorsed Milthorpe’s campaign to unseat Ley in a Facebook post. He called her a “straight shooter, good woman,” leaving his earlier approach to Voices of Farrer as part of the record around the seat rather than a one-off exchange.
For readers in Farrer, the practical takeaway is that the race has already involved direct contact between a current One Nation candidate and the independent network that later backed his rival. That leaves the byelection shaped not only by party labels, but by documented attempts to influence preferences and campaign structure before ballots were cast.
