Michael Lavarch had previously had been member for the Division of Fisher. He was Attorney-General in the Keating Government. Tony Smith did not receive Liberal Party support for the upcoming 1998 election, and so become an independent. Cheryl Kernot had been a member of the Australian Senate and leader of the Australian Democrats. She resigned, joined the Labor Party and won the division in 1998. Peter Dutton was a minister in the Howard Government and Minister for Health and Minister for Sport in the Abbott Government.