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Just a week ago, a furious David Littleproud took the Nationals out of the Coalition and declared “we cannot be part of a shadow ministry under Sussan Ley”.
Ley and Littleproud have been awkward allies from the moment she took over the Liberal leadership in May, and the parties have already split once this term. Last week’s split was over whether to pass the government’s hate crimes bill. But if it wasn’t this issue, it would have been something else.
This time, on his way out the door, Littleproud did his best to deliver a fatal blow to Ley’s leadership. Instead, his manoeuvring has blown up in his face and Colin Boyce, a little-known Queensland backbencher, has challenged for the Nationals leadership.
At the time of writing, Boyce does not even have a colleague to second his spill motion, although there is plenty of time to find someone before Monday lunchtime, when the party meets.
The decision to challenge was driven by Boyce’s growing frustration with Littleproud, a sentiment shared by others still in the party room, while the current leader boasted on Wednesday that the Nationals had held all their seats at the last election.
What Littleproud didn’t mention is that since becoming leader he has lost Andrew Gee to the crossbench, Barnaby Joyce to One Nation and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the Liberals.
Some MPs believe Boyce will join Joyce in One Nation, but colleagues of Boyce say he is more likely to sit on the crossbench if his move to blast out Littleproud fails.
Losing a fourth MP – including a former leader, Joyce, and a future leader, Price – in a party room that now numbers just 18 people is a black mark against any leader and raises serious questions about Littleproud’s future.
One Nationals MP told this masthead: “As a team we have to get to a point where we ask how many people is it OK to lose? How small do we want the party room to be?”
The future of the Coalition is still on the line too, remember, with shadow cabinet positions yet to be allocated and staff in limbo. The consequences of this split fall heavier on the Nationals, who would struggle to get Victorian senator Bridget McKenzie and NSW senator Ross Cadell re-elected if they did not stand on a joint ticket with the Liberals.
Most Liberals are in no mood to forgive Littleproud for effectively demanding they dump Ley and change their leader, though this masthead revealed on Wednesday afternoon that Ley had written to Littleproud seeking peace but was rebuffed – because of the spill Littleproud is now facing, rather than the one he had hoped to precipitate against Ley.
Said one member of shadow cabinet: “I’ve gotten on well with David in the past, but this is just crazy, what he’s done. Would he have to go before the parties re-unite? Yes, that’s probably right.
“We can’t trust him any more. Everything Barnaby said about him was right. It’s a Balkanised party room and he lets them do whatever they want.”
Wednesday should have been a day for the Coalition to be prosecuting its economic argument against the government, especially as the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced annual inflation had risen from 3.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent, significantly increasing the chance of an interest rate rise next Tuesday during a sitting week of parliament.
Ley and her deputy, Ted O’Brien, tried to make it about the economy, but once again the Nationals made it all about themselves.
Littleproud, in rejecting Ley’s peace overtures, may look like he is taking a strong stand and facing his challenger, Boyce, but his unwillingness to compromise could turn some of his allies, who are not as sure about the split, against him.
Even if Boyce’s challenge fizzles out due to a lack of organisation and allies – as seems likely – Littleproud’s leadership is beginning to look terminal.
At least he has that in common with Ley.
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James Massola is chief political commentator. He was previously national affairs editor and South-East Asia correspondent. He has won Quill and Kennedy awards and been a Walkley finalist. Connect securely on Signal @jamesmassola.01Connect via X or email.From our partners
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