Kevin Hogan tipped to beat Matt Canavan after David Littleproud quits
Updated ,first published
New Nationals leader Matt Canavan has warned against joining wars in the Middle East, a day after Australia sent forces to the Gulf to fend off an indiscriminate Iranian missile attack, marking a break in the Coalition’s usually staunch support for US efforts in the region.
For years viewed as an outsider, Canavan entered the National party room by meeting one-on-one with moderate former deputy leader Kevin Hogan. But in a reflection of the party’s willingness to try new leaders and policies to counter a populist threat, Canavan won by a few votes after convincing colleagues that he had an elaborate plan to withdraw support for One Nation.
The Queensland senator outlined an Australian-first agenda of fossil fuel-backed affordability and cultural confidence and delivered one of Pauline Hanson’s sharpest criticisms of the Coalition this term, arguing that its race policies were damaging the social fabric.
In an interview with this imprint, Canavan said the fire in the Middle East proved that “we need to be more self-sufficient and take care of ourselves” as a middle power in a fractious world.
“We can’t sit back and wait for the United States to save the day,” Canavan said.
“My formative political years were during the war on terror, and I felt incompetent. I now have an inherent skepticism about foreign entanglements, especially when they are sold to us without any basic evidence.”
On Wednesday, Canavan weighed in and warned “get in” when asked about an opinion piece he wrote at the weekend before assuming the leadership and pledging Labor military support.[ing] A war from which we have no clear plan to emerge.”
In an interview with this imprint, he emphasized that Labour’s purely defensive deployment to protect Australians in the United Arab Emirates had his support because it was narrowly justified. But his skepticism about US interventionism contrasts with the full support of Angus Taylor and other Coalition MPs for US-Israeli strikes.
Canavan’s foreign policy stance and support for economic intervention and public spending on coal plants puts him more in line with Andrew Hastie, who recently called the old rules-based order a “fantasy”. Both are Generation X politicians beholden to a right-wing social media ecosystem deeply suspicious of US hawkishness.
Joyce turned his guns on the new Nationals leader, who was working as Joyce’s chief of staff.
The national party suggested the Christian right-wing former economist would cause headaches for Liberal moderates in the cities with whom Canavan disagreed on the Paris Agreement, revenue sharing and social conservatism.
“How long did Matt Canavan get along with her? [shadow treasurer] Joyce told reporters: “Tim Wilson will be fascinating. One side will have to compromise: either Matt Canavan or the Coalition. The reason I’m in One Nation for me is because of its fresh air. It’s openness.”
Wilson told this byline that Canavan’s naivety as a regional conservative allowed the Liberals to embrace their own city-based identity.
“Matt Canavan is the embodiment of a National and Nationals must be Nationals, so his rise allows us to be the Liberals we need to be for urban Australia. Because taking back Australia requires Liberals to be Liberals,” Wilson said.
Darren Chester, a leading moderate in the party, was chosen as Canavan’s deputy.
Littleproud, the National Party leader who resigned on Tuesday, has yet to visit Farrer, the seat vacated by Sussan Ley, but Canavan has moved quickly to pitch the party’s candidate ahead of May’s byelections, in which One Nation is expected to poll well before the Nationals.
“Pauline has been in politics for more than twice as long as I have been, and I find it difficult to point to one dam, one road, one hospital that Pauline has implemented in Australia,” Canavan said.
“I am very concerned that the divisive identity politics that we see on the left is now shifting to the right. I have been very critical of Pauline’s comments that divide Australians into different groups and suggest that there is no good in certain groups of Australians. I completely reject this.”
Hanson quickly hit back, claiming Canavan had joined the “woke pile”, including the ABC. Guard and others are trying to “destroy” One Nation.
“Canavan has found himself in a strange friendship with One Nation, the only party truly committed to driving the agenda on ending net zero emissions, reducing immigration and putting Australians first,” he said.
Canavan stated that he won the leadership in the first round of voting in which three candidates competed and received at least half of the votes.
Canavan’s speech to the National Party focused on his plan to combat One Nation. He impressed MPs with his typically succinct rhetoric, delivered in the middle of his speech while the loud bells of parliament rang. He said the Nationals should not put velvet on their gloves as they take the fight up to Pauline Hanson and criticized the party’s divisiveness, particularly on Muslim.
In his speech to the party hall, Canavan said Australia could regain the prosperity he claimed had waned in recent years by abandoning the Labor government’s climate targets and expanding the economy, particularly the agricultural and mining sectors.
He repeated this message to journalists and called for a “hyper-Australian” approach: “We need more Australian everything… We need more Aussie babies. We need more Australian humour, more Australian jokes. We need more Australian barbecues, sometimes fueled by fossil fuels. We need more Australian everything.”
“They’re losing their confidence, we’re losing our easy-going, playful nature and we have to fight on behalf of Australians.”
Nationals Rep. Michelle Landry said Wednesday that she has not yet decided whether she will run for re-election to her Capricornia seat. For years Canavan had been considering contesting the north Queensland seat to move into the lower house, where party leaders usually sit.
Sources in the room said he spoke without notes, unlike other leadership candidates.
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Paul Sakkal is the chief political correspondent. He has previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect with: X or email.
Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
