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Council & Politics
16 January, 2026
Staley seeks Liberal comeback
ARARAT resident and former MP Louise Staley is attempting a political comeback. Ms Staley this week confirmed she is seeking preselection to run as a Liberal candidate for the upper house seat of Western Victoria, with one of the parties two seats to be vacated in November following a decision by sitting MP Joe McCracken to retire. Ms Staley was the member for Ripon from 2014 to 2022 but lost her seat to Labor’s Martha Haylett after the boundaries were redrawn to include large parts of Ballarat. She confirmed to the Advocate her intentions to seek preselection but was unable to comment further due to Liberal Party rules.
Ararat resident Louise Staley is hoping to be selected as the Liberal candidate for Western Victoria marking a return to politics.
Ms Staley was seen as a rising star of her party during her time in office, holding several key positions including Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Regional Recovery and Shadow Minister for Economic Development.
After leaving parliament in 2022, she spent two years as Chief of Staff to then Opposition Leader John Pessuto.
She has also previously served as chair of East Grampians Health Service.
It’s understood several people will be seeking Liberal preselection for the two upper house seats including the remaining incumbent Bev McArthur, former Ballarat Mayor Trent Sullivan and Ms Staley.
Nominations closed on Wednesday and the successful candidates are likely to be known by the end of March.
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