Nationals face further turmoil after MPs defect
Just a week ago a furious David Littleproud pulled the Nationals out of the Coalition and said: “We cannot be part of a shadow ministry under Sussan Ley.”
Ley and Littleproud have been strange allies from the moment he took over the Liberal leadership in May, and the parties were already split this term. Last week’s divide was over whether to pass the government’s hate crimes bill. But if this wasn’t a problem, it would be something else.
This time, Littleproud did his best to deal a fatal blow to Ley’s leadership on his way out the door. Instead, the Nationals leader’s maneuvers flew in his face and little-known Queensland back Colin Boyce challenged for the lead.
At the time of writing, Boyce didn’t even have a colleague to support his motion, but there was plenty of time to find someone before Monday lunch, when the party meets.
The decision to challenge stemmed from Boyce’s growing frustration with Littleproud; This idea is still shared by others in the party room; The current leader boasted on Wednesday that the National Party held all its seats in the last election.
He failed to mention that since Littleproud became leader he had lost Andrew Gee to the bench, Barnaby Joyce to One Nation and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the Liberals.
Some MPs believe Boyce will join Joyce at One Nation, but Boyce’s colleagues say he is more likely to sit on the bench if the move to blast Littleproud fails.
Losing a fourth MP (including former leader Joyce and future leader Price) in a party room currently numbering just 18 people is a dark mark on any leader and raises serious questions about Littleproud’s future.
As one National MP said in this byline: “We need to get to the point where we ask how many people as a team are OK to lose? How small do we want the party room to be?”
Remember, the future of the Coalition is still at stake, with shadow cabinet positions yet to be allocated and staff in limbo. The consequences of this split will weigh further on the National Party, which will struggle to secure the re-election of Victorian senator Bridget McKenzie and NSW senator Ross Cadell unless they form a joint ticket with the Liberals.
Most Liberals are in no mood to forgive Littleproud for effectively demanding they abandon Ley and replace their leader, but this imprint revealed on Wednesday afternoon that Ley had written to Littleproud seeking peace but was rejected – more because of the leakage Littleproud was now facing than the leakage he had hoped to precipitate against Ley.
As one member of the shadow cabinet said in this byline: “I got on well with David in the past, but this is crazy what he’s doing. Would he have to leave without the parties reuniting? Yes, that’s probably true.”
“We can’t trust him anymore. Everything Barnaby said about him was true. This is a Balkanized party room and he lets them do whatever they want.”
Wednesday should have been a day for the Coalition to prosecute its economic argument against the government; especially since the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that annual inflation rose from 3.4 percent to 3.8 percent, significantly increasing the likelihood of a rate hike next week on Tuesday during the parliamentary sitting week.
Ley and his deputy Ted O’Brien tried to do something about the economy, but once again the Nationals made it all about themselves.
By rejecting Ley’s peace overtures, Littleproud is taking a strong stance and may appear to be at odds with his rival Boyce, but his reluctance to compromise may turn some of his allies against him, who are less confident about the split.
Even if Boyce’s campaign fails due to lack of organization and allies – which seems likely – Littleproud’s leadership begins to look deadly.
At least he has something in common with Ley.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up for our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
James Massola is the chief political commentator. He was previously national affairs editor and Southeast Asia correspondent. He won the Quill and Kennedy awards and was a Walkley finalist. Connect securely to Signal @jamesmassola.01Connect with: X or email.
