Sean Cunningham, Narrandera Argus

The One Nation bandwagon continued to roll on with a landslide victory for Narrandera local David Farley in last Saturday’s Farrer By-Election.

On the back of One Nation’s rise during the recent South Australian elections, the seat of Farrer became the party’s latest conquest as voters chose to abandon the Liberals and Nationals and place their faith in Mr Farley.

After holding the seat for 25 years, the Liberals suffered a catastrophic result as One Nation won its first federal lower house seat in its history.

A total of 103,613 votes were cast across the electorate, with Mr Farley attracting 51,168 (57.33 per cent) and his closest rival, Independent Michelle Milthorpe, with 38,016 (42.67 per cent).

Mr Farley, who was born and grew up in Narrandera, is the grandson of a returned First World War Light Horseman and the son of a returned World War II naval serviceman who later became an agribusiness operator.

Winning the seat was never in doubt, according to Mr Farley.

“We were confident we would win, but didn’t think it would be as big a margin as it was,” Mr Farley told the Argus on Monday.

“Our confidence was building through the pre-polls and our campaigning.

“We were getting good audiences at all our meetings and we were getting a wink and a nod from voters.

“As Saturday progressed, we were driving around the electorate in three cars and got back to Albury about 6pm.

“The enormity of the win didn’t hit us until about 8pm.

“It’s really humbling that people had the choice and made a change to a historical voting pattern.

“It’s been busy, but I’m comfortable and equipped for the job ahead – I know the engine room of Farrer well.”

When One Nation was declared the winner of the seat of Farrer, Mr Farley prepared to address the large and enthusiastic crowd of party faithful in Albury, as the strains of John Farnham’s “You’re The Voice” played in the background.

Standing alongside One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Mr Farley opened his speech by saying how humbling it was to have earned the trust of voters to deliver his victory in the Farrer Electorate.

“We listened, you listened and you agreed and you spoke, so thank you Farrer,” Mr Farley said.

“This is the biggest achievement I think that my career has delivered to me, but it’s also the most passionate, most euphoric experience I have had.

“What are we doing tonight? We’re like a mason, with a chisel, and a hammer and we’re re-carving the letters into the Australian democracy.

“One Nation has reached the end of its beginning; we’re going through the ceiling.

“It’s a job that I’ve got and that job is for you (voters) … all the way to Pooncarie, all the way up to Hillston, all the way across to Holbrook, all the way down to Gol Gol, all the way along to Balranald and Hay and right and right along the great Murray River and back here in Albury.”

Mr Farley praised his backroom staff who had played key roles during his campaign and on the day.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have an incredible team of volunteers and professionals behind me,” he said.

“Success doesn’t come to the individual; it comes to the team – it takes a team to deliver.”

A father of three daughters and grandfather of seven grandchildren, Mr Farley went on to outline some of the priorities that lay ahead for him as the new Member for Farrer.

“So, what is our job now? We’ve got to focus on a couple of big things we can do immediately; we want to get the cost of living down and our first target is on this damn Net Zero program,” he said.

“It’s going to be pulled down and kicked out, it’s not what Australia wants and it’s not what Australia needs.

“We’ve got to have a policy that fits Australia, not the world.

“We’ve got to go back and address our water, the water needs to be ours, it’s got a purpose and that purpose is to grow food and create jobs and create manufacturing and put resilience back into our regional communities.”

Immigration issues were also on the table for Mr Farley.

“We’ve got to address immigration, it’s as simple as that, it’s got to be addressed,” he said.

“We will not have housing supply, we will not get education and health right, until we address the demands and we’re creating artificial demand that’s living off our pocket at the moment, those numbers need to come down.

“We’re not going to implode industries that are reliant on good quality, assimilating migrants into the country, we’re going to embrace them, but we’re not going to entertain people that come here and live off our balance sheet, our purse and give us nothing.

“We don’t want to be dependent on other countries for our food, for our energy and we definitely don’t want to be dependent on other countries bringing their culture into ours.

“We need Australia for Australians, we need an Australia capable of giving opportunities to our grandchildren that our forefathers gave to us.”

Sixty-nine-year-old Mr Farley plans to be a strong advocate for the electorate.

“What we need to do is start making our future, not someone else’s future; we need to hold government accountable and responsible for how they spend our money, who they let into the country and more importantly, how they defend the country,” he said.

“I’m incredibly honoured and humbled; I’m very pleased you listened to us and we listened to you and we had a great conversation Farrer – our future, your future is there to be made and that’s what we intend to do go out and make it and make it for Australia.”

A jubilant party leader, Pauline Hanson, told the crowd she had a “tear in her eye” when One Nation was declared the victor.

“You have no idea how proud I feel,” she said.

“This is not only a win for Farrer – it’s a win for Australia.”

Farrer seems to be in good hands as Mr Farley’s career has seen him navigate complex operational and financial challenges, rebuild balance sheets and protect regional jobs and export industries.

He believes Australia’s sovereign strength begins in its regional communities.

How the local booths fared:

Barellan:

• One Nation David Farley 137 votes (47.9 per cent)
• Independent Michelle Milthorpe 56 votes (19.58 per cent)
• Liberal Raissa Butkowski 18 votes (6.29 per cent)
• Nationals Brad Robertson 37 votes (12.94 per cent)

Narrandera:

• One Nation David Farley 187 votes (38.8 per cent)
• Independent Michelle Milthorpe 157 votes (32.57 per cent)
• Liberal Raissa Butkowski 29 votes (6.02 per cent)
• Nationals Brad Robertson 46 votes (9.54 per cent)

Narrandera East:

• One Nation David Farley 256 votes (47.5 per cent)
• Independent Michelle Milthorpe 148 votes (27.46 per cent)
• Liberal Raissa Butkowski 37 votes (6.86 per cent)
• Nationals Brad Robertson 43 votes (7.98 per cent)

Narrandera PPVC:

• One Nation David Farley 886 votes (47.63 per cent)
• Independent Michelle Milthorpe 477 votes (25.65 per cent)
• Liberal Raissa Butkowski 131 votes (7.04 per cent)
• Nationals Brad Robertson 223 votes (11.99 per cent)

This article appeared in Narrandera Argus, 14 May 2026.