Controversial Liberal candidate Julie Sladden should be dismissed, Labor says

A Liberal candidate for the seat of Bass should have her party membership revoked, according to a Labor MLC. WHY SHE’S UNDER FIRE >>>

Liberal Bass candidate Julie Sladden. Picture: Facebook/Julie Sladden, Liberal for Bass

A controversial Liberal candidate has been accused of previously campaigning against her own party, which Labor claims should be grounds for her dismissal.

Julie Sladden has again been preselected to run for the Liberals in Bass, a year after she stood for election in 2024 and attracted public ire for her scepticism about Covid vaccinations.

More recently, Dr Sladden has provoked criticism by casting doubt on gender affirmation therapy, claiming in an interview that “transgender medicine” can “potentially harm people irreversibly”.

She is understood to have worked for former federal Liberal MP Russell Broadbent, who quit the party to sit as an independent in November 2023 after he failed to win preselection for his seat of Monash in the lead-up to the 2025 election.

Labor MLC Sarah Lovell. Picture: Linda Higginson

Mr Broadbent ran as an independent candidate for the seat but was not re-elected.

Dr Sladden, who was contacted for comment, has said on social media that she joined the Liberals in 2022. It is not clear when she began working for Mr Broadbent or when she ceased in her role on his staff.

Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said Dr Sladden would have been working for Mr Broadbent when he was an independent and that this should necessitate her dismissal from the Liberals.

“‘Actively assisting a candidate’ other than one endorsed by the Liberal Party is grounds for the withdrawal of party membership, as Clarence Mayor Brendan Blomeley found out when all he did was not rule out running as an independent last year,” she said.

“It speaks volumes to [Premier Jeremy] Rockliff’s weak leadership [that] he would allow someone who is anti-vaccination, anti-Tasmanian, anti-trans, and anti-Liberal to be preselected.”

Liberal Bass Candidate Julie Sladden with Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Picture: Facebook/Julie Sladden, Liberal for Bass

Liberal Bass Candidate Julie Sladden with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Picture: Facebook/Julie Sladden, Liberal for Bass

Asked about Dr Sladden’s candidacy on Thursday, Mr Rockliff said Tasmanians were “tired of the political games and the personal attacks”.

“What is notable is that Mr Winter and the Labor Party have put forward three different press conferences to attack personally a candidate, and I haven’t seen them outline … three different policies yet in a press conference,” he said.

The Premier said his team of Liberal candidates “are not robots but they’re real people with … a broad range of views, but that’s great”.

“Tasmanians know where I stand on a range of issues, and I’ve always supported a very inclusive Tasmania where people, irrespective of circumstance or background, are supported, encouraged to be the best they can be,” he said.

Originally published as Controversial Liberal candidate Julie Sladden should be dismissed, Labor says