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Nationals leader David Littleproud’s apparent attempt to spur Liberals into ousting their leader by blowing up the Coalition partnership is yet to bear fruit.
Instead, the Nationals have been relegated to minor party status, and Littleproud and his senior MPs have relinquished their prime positions on the shadow frontbench.
With the Liberals becoming the sole party of opposition and the Nationals joining the crossbench after Littleproud and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley could not reconcile their differences, enduring conventions will need to change when parliament returns from the summer recess on Monday.
Question time allocations, staffing resources, the chamber seating plan and bipartisan committee positions are all in flux – though the government has not been rushing to finalise changes in case the former Coalition party leaders change their minds and reunify.
When approached for comment on what the split means for the House of Representatives’ operations, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke couldn’t resist a quip.
“It never occurred to me when Barnaby [Joyce] went to join the crossbench that the entire National Party would move to the crossbench with him,” he said.
“The crossbench is now as big as the opposition. We are still working out what that will mean. But it’s a big shift.”
The opposition split doubles the size of the crossbench from 14 to 28 people – equal to the number of Liberal MPs – and will necessitate changes in the chamber, where the Liberals and Nationals have sat together for decades.
Party whips have been discussing new seating arrangements. A senior government source, who asked not to be named so they could speak freely, said the seating plan had not yet been finalised, but “at this stage the Nationals will be joining the crossbench”.
A draft plan is expected to propose that Liberal assistant shadow ministers move down to fill the gaps on the frontbench left by departing Nationals, and the handful of remaining Liberal backbenchers move in behind them.
Littleproud and his deputy, Kevin Hogan, are expected to take the seats of Nationals backbenchers Jamie Chaffey and Andrew Willcox, behind the opposition frontbench. Senior Nationals would then fan out behind them and occupy the back row of the chamber vacated by the Liberals.
It will be another fundamental shift in the chamber’s look and feel after the government’s thumping election win last May, when Labor MPs spilled over onto seats historically inhabited by the crossbench. The seating was not rearranged when the Coalition briefly split less than a year ago because parliament did not sit during the eight days the Liberals and Nationals spent apart.
Ley announced this week that Liberal shadow ministers would temporarily fill the portfolio roles relinquished by Nationals.
The opposition leader threw down a gauntlet for Littleproud to return to the fold, saying the acting roles would end on February 9, when she would appoint six Liberal MPs to the shadow cabinet and two more to the shadow ministry. Salaries and staff would be allocated, entrenching the Liberal-National split.
For now, shadow treasurer and deputy leader Ted O’Brien will look after the assistant treasurer and financial services portfolios, while shadow foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash picks up trade, investment and tourism.
Opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan takes on resources, while health spokeswoman Anne Ruston will look after agriculture and forestry, and shadow special minister of state James McGrath will oversee infrastructure, transport and regional development. Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor will take on veterans’ affairs, and environment spokeswoman Angie Bell picks up water and emergency management.
Rules governing House procedure are also expected to change to be more proportionate to the new parliament make-up.
The crossbench is expected to get more questions during question time, probably increasing from two with an option of a third to four with the option of a fifth, on a pro rata basis. The Liberals will have a similar number, losing questions to the crossbench that had once been allocated to the Coalition.
Four deputy committee chair positions previously held by Nationals have been declared vacant, so new appointments will need to be made – or the rules mandating the roles that go to members of the opposition changed – if the split proves permanent.
Former Nationals shadow ministers face losing their staff, the extra salary frontbenchers get and their larger, more comfortable offices.
Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
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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