Kellie Sloane

Last updated

Adam Connolly
​
(m. 2003)​
[2]
Kellie Sloane
MP
KellieSloaneMP Main (cropped).jpg
Sloane in 2023
Leader of the Opposition in New South Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 November 2025
Children3 [2]
Alma mater University of South Australia [3]
ProfessionTelevision journalist
Signature Kellie Sloane signature (transparent).png
Website kelliesloane.com.au

Kellie Anne Sloane (born January 1973) is an Australian politician who has served as leader of the opposition in New South Wales and leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party since 2025. She has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Vaucluse since 2023.

Contents

Sloane was a member of the shadow ministry of Mark Speakman, first serving as the Shadow Minister for the Environment until July 2024, before serving as the Shadow Minister for Health. On 21 November 2025, she replaced Speakman as party leader unopposed and became Leader of the Opposition. Sloane is the third woman, after Kerry Chikarovski and Gladys Berejiklian, to lead the Liberals and the Coalition in New South Wales.

Before entering politics, Sloane was a charity CEO and television journalist. She was a presenter on the Nine Network's Nightline , and was also briefly an interim co-host of Today in 2007.

Early life and education

Sloane grew up in the South Australian town of Tanunda, and also spent some time in Port Lincoln. She attended Nuriootpa High School, and completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of South Australia in 1996. Her father Bob Sloane was mayor of Barossa Council from 2014 to 2018. [4] [5]

Career

Media

Sloane started her career at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). [6]

Sloane joined the Nine Network in 1997 as a lifestyle series reporter for both A Current Affair and Money . She moved from A Current Affair in 2005, during a revamp of the programme to combat a ratings slump against rival Seven Network's Today Tonight . [7]

In April 2007, Sloane moved to co-hosting Today with Karl Stefanovic, replacing Jessica Rowe, who was on maternity leave at the time. The replacement became permanent after Rowe announced that she was leaving the Nine Network a month later. [8]

In October 2009, the Nine Network announced that Sloane would be shifted to the late night news programme Nightline , with Wendy Kingston moving to present Nine's Morning News Hour . She was also a fill in presenter for Nine News in Sydney. [9] In July 2010, Sloane left the Nine Network after a 13 year tenure. [10]

NGO work

In August 2015, Sloane was appointed CEO of Life Education NSW. [6] [11] [10] She served in the position until 2019. [3]

In 2020, she was appointed CEO of Life Education Australia. She served in the position for two years. [3]

Political career

In October 2021, Sloane announced she was seeking preselection for the seat of Willoughby due to the resignation of Premier Gladys Berejiklian. [2]

In November 2022, she was selected as the Liberal Party candidate for the electorate of Vaucluse at the 2023 New South Wales state election. [12] She was comfortably elected. [13] After election, she was appointed Shadow Minister for the Environment in the Shadow ministry of Mark Speakman. Upon the resignation of Matt Kean in 2024, Sloane was appointed Shadow Minister for Health.

2025 leadership election

Sloane was seen as a likely successor to New South Wales Liberal Party leader Mark Speakman, who resigned from leadership on 20 November 2025. [14] The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the two MPs met before his resignation, with Speakman supporting Sloane's move to take over the party. [15] In a press conference on 20 November, Sloane confirmed she had nominated herself for the leadership position. [15]

On 21 November 2025, ABC News confirmed that Sloane was elected as leader unopposed after Alister Henskens withdrew from the race. [16]

Leader of the Opposition

In January 2026 Sloan announced a cabinet reshuffle, removing factional opponents from her shadow ministry in preparation for the 2027 New South Wales state election. Monica Tudehope, representing the northern Sydney Epping electorate and daughter of New South Wales Legislative Council member Damien Tudehope was installed as Shadow Minister for Finance as well as Shadow Minister for Western Sydney, replacing Eleni Petinos. Adam Crouch, the Member for Terrigal on the Central Coast was dumped as Shadow Minister for the Central Coast and replaced by Sydney based Legislative Council member Jacqui Munro. Gurmesh Singh, nuclear power advocate, New South Wales National Party Leader and Member for Coffs Habour was made the Shadow Minister for the Small Business, Regional NSW and Trade portfolios. [17] [18]

Views

Antisemitism

In response to the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting, Sloane publicly supported a royal commission into the incident, arguing that a national inquiry would have stronger powers to investigate security agency failures than the proposed state-based commission. [19] Sloan wrote an opinion piece for the The Daily Telegraph after the attack, saying that antisemitism had been "allowed to grow through complacency, institutional drift, and a failure of leadership over several years". [20]

Development

In September 2023, Sloane opposed a plan to turn a derelict service station in Rose Bay into a Woolworths supermarket and apartment block, arguing that the development would be "an unprecedented extension of a corporate and commercial site into a residential area". [21]

In June 2025, Sloane opposed a Rose Bay housing development plan proposed by Labor premier Chris Minns, arguing that the suburb was lacking critical services such as a major supermarket or transport links like a train line to support an increased population. [22] Her position has been criticised by members of the Sydney YIMBY movement. [23]

In September 2025, Sloane publicly opposed the completion of the Woollahra railway station along with rezoning that would allow higher density development to be built around the new station. [24] Two months later, she stated she supported development of the railway station but criticized the plan, telling reporters that the area lacked community infrastructure. [25]

In her first speech as party leader, Sloane said that she was "pro-housing" and called for the development of new metro lines, a policy championed by her predecessor Mark Speakman. [5]

Personal life

Sloane is married to Adam Connolly, with whom she has three sons. [26] Her husband was an advisor to Prime Minister John Howard. [2] Sloane used her married name Connolly professionally from 2003, before reverting to her maiden name in 2013. [27]

On 14 December 2025, Sloane was present at the Bondi Beach shooting, where terrorists targeted a Hanukkah celebration. She assisted lifeguards in giving first aid to victims. [28]

References

  1. ↑ "Kellie Sloane newly elected Leader of the NSW Liberals and Opposition Leader vows to take the fight to the Minns Labor government". 21 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Graham, Ben (28 October 2021). "Former Today star Kellie Sloane aims to replace Gladys Berejiklian in Willoughby seat". news.com.au . Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ms Kellie Anne SLOANE, MP". NSW Parliament. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Smith, Alexandra (16 September 2025). "She's the woman most likely, but can Kellie Sloane save the NSW Liberals?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 Buckley, Penry (21 November 2025). "Who is Kellie Sloane, the new NSW Liberal leader – and can this first-term former journalist save the party?". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 ""We Are There for Every Child": Kellie Sloane". CEO Magazine. 7 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Ketchell, Misha (2 February 2006). "Doing the maths at A Current Affair". Crikey. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Knox, David (6 May 2007). "Nine bones Jessica Rowe". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Knox, D., Kellie Sloane in tilt at state politics
  10. 1 2 Knox, David (5 November 2022). "Kellie Sloane in tilt at state politics". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Life Education Welcomes Kellie Sloane". www.lifeeducation.org.au. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Michael Koziol (12 November 2022). "Punishment or reward? The housing remark that revived Sydney's east-west divide". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "Vaucluse (Key Seat) – NSW Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. 25 March 2023. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Karp, Paul (20 November 2025). "Kellie Sloane set to lead NSW Liberals after Speakman quits". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  15. 1 2 Smith, Alexandra; McSweeney, Jessica; Maddison, Max (20 November 2025). "Mark Speakman resigns: Kellie Sloane frontrunner to lead NSW Liberal Party as Speakman steps down". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Breaking: Kellie Sloane elected NSW Liberal leader". ABC News. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "Crouch dumped as Shadow Minister for the Central Coast". Central Coast News. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  18. ↑ Lewis, Alexander (6 January 2026). "NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane announces new shadow cabinet". ABC News. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "Premier Chris Minns urged by Kellie Sloane to confront PM over Bondi massacre royal commission". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  20. ↑ "Kellie Sloane: Bondi attack was a failure of leadership on anti-Semitism". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Kellie Sloane Opposing Supermarket And Apartments Plan In Vaucluse".
  22. ↑ Smith, A., McSweeney, J. (12 June 2025). "'No decent supermarket': The Liberal MP who wants Sydney's east spared from more housing".
  23. ↑ "YIMBYs vs NIMBYs in the battle for your backyard". ABC News. 12 July 2025.
  24. ↑ Smith, A. (23 July 2025). "In an electorate that screams privilege, an MP needs to pick a side on housing crisis".
  25. ↑ Davies, Anne (21 November 2025). "Kellie Sloane elected NSW Liberal leader unopposed, replacing Mark Speakman". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  26. ↑ "10 things you didn't know about new Liberal leader Kellie Sloane". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  27. ↑ Sloane, Kellie (6 November 2013). "I'm ditching my hubby's name to be me again". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 22 November 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  28. ↑ Campbell, Kieran (22 December 2025). "NSW Opposition Leader arrived at Bondi as attack unfolded, parked under the bridge with shooters above her". Nine News.
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