Council & Politics
1 December, 2025
Nationals say Ripon is in their sights
WITH a state election exactly one year away, the Nationals have stepped up their campaign with a week long blitz of the Ripon electorate. Nationals Leader Danny O’Brien spent last Wednesday in Ararat meeting with locals and asking them about their priorities.
The Nationals last contested Ripon in 2014 with popular local footballer Scott Turner attracting about 18% of the vote.
The seat was eventually won by Louise Staley.
Mr O’Brien told the Advocate this week the party is serious about winning Ripon in 2026.
“We’re one year out from the state election and this week was to highlight that the Nationals are very focussed on the seat of Ripon as a target for us. Ripon is a seat we feel we can win and need to win to change the government,” he said.
“People are looking for an alternative and we have shown at recent elections we can pick up new seats, over the last couple of years, the seat of Morwell, whether it’s the inroads we made in Bendigo at the Federal Election, and of course we did last contest the seat here in 2014 when we picked up about 20% of the vote.
“We think people are angry with the current government and are looking for an alternative,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said the feeling on the ground has been good.
“It was really positive I’ve got to say. We’ve done a whole lot of campaigning, out doorknocking, street walks, listening posts in the outer suburbs of Ballarat, Maryborough and Ararat and people are concerned about cost of living, they’re concerned about crime, the emergency services tax and roads. Roads is the issue that keeps coming up.”
Mr O’Brien said a Nationals candidate will be selected in the second quarter of 2026, but he wouldn’t be drawn on the likelihood Ararat Councillor Jo Armstrong will be selected.
“Jo Armstrong is a fantastic champion of her community and is a great person within the Nationals but we have an internal process to go through and I won’t disrespect our members and be commenting on candidates any further than that,” he said.
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