There have been just four coalition MPs in the 77 years of Farrer but all that could be about to change on Saturday. Sussan Ley held the seat for 25 years, and the previous election margins were often 11-20 per cent over the Labor candidate, although in the last election, Michelle Milthorpe got within 6 per cent with preferences, 20 per cent on the primary alone.

If you think this Farrer election appears more heated than most, you may be right, 12 candidates are in the running and external forces are pumping money into not only to get a candidate elected but also to undermine others. Left-leaning political campaigners GetUp! has launched an all-out war to ‘Stop One Nation in Farrer’. The group has sought to raise half a million dollars, not for the people of Farrer or the issues we have been fighting for the past 20 years, but to use their financial might to influence people’s vote. The group has claimed online that testing showed that 41.4 per cent of persuadable Farrer voters could be convinced by their advertising campaigns. GetUp! has even started social media accounts under the name Albury News, along with billboards, advertising, stickers, campaign materials, and what they claim as digital mobilisation and rapid response.

Polling suggests that the two front-runners for this election are independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe and One Nation Candidate David Farley. Both have seen a rough few weeks as muck-racking and hit pieces fly thick and fast. Farley’s deviation from One Nation’s migration cap of 130,000 at a Griffith candidates forum hosted by former Insiders host Barrie Cassidy saw the candidate asked, “Is 306,000 [net overseas migration] too many?”

Farley responded, “No, it’s probably not.”

“If we’re successful in One Nation’s water policies, we’re going to need more labour and we’re going to need more labour quickly, skilled labour,” he said.

“So for anyone to be able to say, ‘What is the number today?’ it should be addressed as what are we doing with productivity and what are we doing with capacity building, then you will get a true number that’s required for Australia.”

Farley later clarified his position, stating that immigration should match the country’s capacity for housing, education, and healthcare, with an emphasis on integration within immigration and immigrants who seek to give to Australia rather than just take.

National coverage was also made of Farley having approached the Labor Party in the lead up to the 2022 election, and the support of Milthorpe at the last election.

In a statement, Farley said, “I explored my options before finding a political home that actually reflects my values, and I make no apology for that.”

“I looked at the Liberals and Nationals, but their record on water, tax, energy and immigration is one of failure. I briefly spoke with Labor, but their support for the Voice and net zero made it clear we were worlds apart.”

“I found that home in One Nation, because Pauline Hanson says what she means and means what she says, something neither major party can claim.”

In a media release, Milthorpe criticised Farley’s approach to Labor, labelling it as a serious breach of voter’s trust. “I reflect the conservative character of this electorate and have not sought to hide it,” stated Milthorpe in the media release.

Milthorpe has also been under the microscope, with detractors labelling her a ‘teal’ after Climate 200 accounted for almost 90 per cent ($178,492) of her last election campaign donations. Climate 200 founder and convenor Simon Holmes à Court was a driving force behind Australia’s first community-owned wind farm, Hepburn Wind and advocates for accelerated climate action policies such as net zero. The ABC reported that Milthorpe also secured the support of a prominent pro-climate farmer, Alasdair MacLeod, son-in-law of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Milthorpe has maintained that she is an independent, Cootamundra-born, with strong country values and a history of voting for the Nationals.

The Libs and National candidates seem to be keeping a low profile, but the coalition party machine isn’t pulling any punches with their own muck-raking and a procession of high-profile current and former pollies touring Farrer’s major centres.

Don’t forget to vote Saturday if you haven’t done so already, and remember, preferences will be critical for the outcome, and despite the recommendations on the ‘how to vote card’, they’re ultimately up to you!

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 7 May 2026.