Overview
- Tarzia said he was stepping down to focus on his young family and his Hartley electorate, with the change taking effect at 5pm Friday.
- He rejected claims of a push, saying no colleague or delegation asked him to resign and describing himself as calm about the decision.
- Shadow health spokesperson Ashton Hurn has been widely reported by party sources as the frontrunner to replace him, though she has not formally declared.
- Senior Liberals were briefed last month on internal polling pointing to major seat losses, echoing a June YouGov survey showing Malinauskas leading 72–14 as preferred premier and a modelled 12.4% swing that could leave the Liberals with as few as two MPs.
- Tarzia will remain the MP for Hartley and intends to run in March, as his departure marks the fourth state Liberal leadership change nationally in about a month.