10 things you didn’t know about new Liberal leader Kellie Sloane
From her “country girl” childhood to high-flying journalist and corporate CEO, Kellie Sloane’s rise to the leadership of the Liberal Party has been nothing short of meteoric.
From dancing with John Travolta to reporting on the Bali bombings, former TV journalist Kellie Sloane’s path to NSW Liberal leadership spans an extraordinary career in media and business.
Here’s all you need to know about the woman who would be premier.
1. She grew up in regional South Australia, first in the west coast tuna-fishing town of Port Lincoln and then north of Adelaide in wine country in the Barossa Valley. “I am a country girl at heart”
2. Her dad ran a small business and her mum worked at the local school. She attended Nuriootpa High School before juggling university and a cadetship at the ABC. Her first interview was the then premier on the week she turned 18. “I was thrown straight in the deep end”
3. She has danced with John Travolta in his private jet. After moving to Sydney in 1997, she joined the Nine Network where she worked for 14 years. “I got to see inside submarines and fly in Black Hawk helicopters. I covered the Oscars and danced with John Travolta in his private jet. But it was the events that impacted everyday people that shaped me as a person.”
4. She said being a journalist has helped her become a better politician. “It was a privilege to be able to give a voice to the quiet Australians who were doing it tough or had been silenced. Those people feel that politicians in this place and in Canberra do not have their best interests at heart, behave poorly—you wouldn’t do that, would you?—talk too much about themselves and not about their communities, and do not act in the public interest. I promise all of the people I have interviewed that I have taken note.”
5. She witnessed the trauma in the aftermath of the Bali bombings when covering the tragedy in Kuta that took the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians. “ I remember the shock and disbelief we felt as a nation.”
6. She is married to Adam Connolly who was an adviser to John Howard. The couple have three boys Tom, Lachie and Will.
7. She was the CEO of an organisation called Life Education, most commonly known as Healthy Harold. “I was a volunteer, then a board director and then, in a sliding doors moment for my career and my life, I took on the role of CEO.”
8. She was elected to the seat of Vaucluse at the last state election.
9. In her maiden speech to the NSW Legislative Assembly in 2023, she revealed her best friend - TV journalist Nina Stephens - tried to talk her out of getting into politics. She also thanked the “tribe of women” supporting her journey into politics, and singled out her 97-year-old grandmother “Pumma” for special praise.
10. She first ran for Willoughby after then member and premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned. While she was unsuccessful, she caught the attention of former premier Mike Baird and other senior Liberals.
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Originally published as 10 things you didn’t know about new Liberal leader Kellie Sloane
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