Overview
- Leanne Castley resigned from the Canberra Liberals and told the assembly she will sit on the crossbench as an independent for the remainder of the term, a decision she announced on Tuesday.
- Castley said she endured an 18-month campaign of bullying, intimidation, lies and a specific threat of physical assault, and she has lodged a formal complaint about the conduct she described.
- Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton rejected the characterisation of a toxic culture, saying an 'animated discussion' with Ms Castley and another MLA was a misunderstanding that he thought had been cleared up.
- Her defection reduces the Liberals' numbers in the ACT Legislative Assembly, removes their shadow minister for women, raises the count of independents to three, and narrows the party's capacity to scrutinise government business.
- The episode revives scrutiny of the party's recent internal turmoil — including leadership changes and past suspensions of Elizabeth Lee and Peter Cain — and has prompted public calls for ACT Policing involvement and an independent party review.