Federal election 2025: Labor candidate for O’Connor Darren Moir explains silence in final week of election

Labor’s candidate for O’Connor Darren Moir has explained his silence in the week leading up to the election, telling the Advertiser on Saturday he was following the direction of his media team: “I do as I’m told and I’m part of the system.” The fifth-generation sheep and grain farmer became a hot topic in the lead-up to the May 3 election after telling the Advertiser he supported the Albanese Government’s highly-contentious live sheep export ban. “The livestock industry will survive and there is a $140m transition package which will help,” he said. “But it’s also the right time for the industry to have a good old look at itself and ask why the margins are so tight for farmers. But when the Advertiser’s sister paper Countryman reached out to his media team on Monday to request an interview, a spokeswoman said he was “working on his farm” and would not be available “for the next couple of days”. He was still unavailable on Friday when the Advertiser made several attempts to reach him. At the Mr Lockyer Primary School on Saturday, Mr Moir denied going to ground and said he was following the direction of his media team. “My media team handle that and I do the interviews they tell me to do,” he said. “We’re a very disciplined outfit — I’m very impressed with how the Labor Party does it. “I do as I’m told and I’m part of the system.”