Council & Politics
2 July, 2026
Libs make selection for Ripon
Megan Read won a pre-selection convention vote of members in Avoca last Wednesday and Opposition leader Jess Wilson announced the candidate using an online video filmed in Ararat on Monday during her Fresh Start tour.
A SKIPTON farmer has been unveiled as the Liberal Party candidate in the marginal seat of Ripon for November’s state election.
Megan Read won a pre-selection convention vote of members in Avoca last Wednesday and Opposition leader Jess Wilson announced the candidate using an online video filmed in Ararat on Monday during her Fresh Start tour.
Mrs Read was one of four candidates to contest a second attempt by the Liberals to select a candidate after Andrew Kilmartin, endorsed last December, withdrew days later when he was diagnosed with early-onset Huntington’s disease.
Her candidate biography published online by the Liberal Party says Mrs Read “is fighting for a fair deal for communities across Ripon.
That means getting rid of Labor’s new Emergency Services and Volunteers taxes. And it means fixing the potholes on our local roads.”
Labor won Ripon at the last election with a 2.8 per cent margin when Martha Haytlett defeated Louise Staley.
Other confirmed challengers to Ms Haylett are the Nationals’ Jo Armstrong, Tim Drylie (Greens) and independent Bernard Quince who also stood in 2022.
One Nation is expected to name its candidates for the state’s 88 lower house seats this month.
Read More: St Arnaud