Kellie Sloane came in to tidy up the NSW Libs. She’s going to need a bigger broom

July 9, 2026 — 5:00am

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Has NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane smashed a mirror recently? Walked under a ladder? Is there a vengeful witch doctor somewhere who has it in for her?

Since Sloane took over in November, the Doomsday Clock on the Liberal brand been stuck uncomfortably close to midnight. Support for the Liberal Party has tanked in the reordering of politics following the Bondi massacre which has helped accelerate the consequent rise of One Nation.

With the Liberals already behind in the polls and facing a mammoth task to hang onto the furniture next March, the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s announcement it will run eight weeks of hearings probing allegations that party figures were involved in corrupt donation schemes is the latest in a long run of bad luck.

That she learnt of the inquiry while touring a western Sydney dog food factory feels emblematic, somehow. There are days you just shouldn’t get out of bed.

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Not that everything was sunshine and roses before she took over – otherwise Mark Speakman would still be the leader – but it’s reasonable to say until now, the party’s struggles in NSW have to some extent been a........

© The Sydney Morning Herald