Coalition chaos as Nationals spill attempt looms
Source: Sky News Australia
A week after the Nationals walked away from the Coalition following divisions over hate speech laws, tensions remain over whether Sussan Ley will stay on as Opposition Leader.
Deputy Liberal leader Ted OâBrien said he had not heard from other MPs about a possible challenge to Leyâs leadership when parliament resumed on Tuesday.
âI donât believe thereâll be a challenge next week ⌠Iâm in close contact with my colleagues,â he told ABC TV on Thursday.
âI havenât spoken to any colleague who believes that Sussan didnât make the right call last week. She demonstrated enormous strength and dignity in a very difficult situation with the National Party.â
OâBrien said both parties would be stronger in a Coalition, but a reunion would not be expedited for the sake of it.
âWe are best served by a Coalition government, the Liberals and Nationals working together; at the moment, that reunion hasnât happened,â he said.
âI believe it will at some point, it canât be forced. Itâs got to be at the right time for the right reason.â
You might like
Conservative faction members Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor are angling for Leyâs role. But neither has put up a hand to run for the leadership or declare a spill motion.
Liberal frontbencher James Paterson said Ley had backing in the party.
âI canât predict what all of my colleagues may or may not do, but I can say that, in my assessment, Sussan continues to enjoy the support of the majority of the party room,â he told ABC radio.
âI understand my responsibilities under the Westminster convention. The first responsibility if you donât support any leader is to tell them, and the second responsibility is to resign, and I havenât done either.
âYou can assume I continue to support Sussan.â
Ley has yet to name her full shadow cabinet following the split with the Nationals.
It means shadow portfolios such as emergency management and trade are unfilled, as those roles were previously being held by Nationals members.
Paterson said it was likely the Liberals would appoint acting spokespeople for the missing portfolios before parliament resumed on Tuesday.
Stay informed, daily
âI note that David Littleproud has not yet appointed any spokesman for those areas as well,â he said.
âWe should continue to talk with the National Party and see whether reformation of the Coalition can occur.â
David Littleproudâs statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, senior Nationals members said they were confident David Littleproud would remain the partyâs leader amid a looming leadership spill on Monday.
Queensland Nationals backbencher Colin Boyce has declared he will challenge Littleproud for the partyâs top job when politicians return to Canberra next week.
âIt seems to me that under Mr Littleproudâs leadership, to blow the Coalition up twice now since the last federal election, that is not a position I want to be in,â he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
But asked if he was actively canvassing colleagues for votes, Boyce simply said âNoâ.
He denied suggestions that his motion was a move to help another memberâs leadership plans.
âIâm not aware of anybody else that is intending to run for leadership,â Boyce said.
Insiders believe the push to unseat Littleproud is unlikely to succeed because Boyce does not have the numbers.
Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie said Littleproud would âabsolutelyâ remain leader, telling Nineâs Today she âcannot see the spill motion getting upâ.
On Wednesday night, Littleproud said a time to meet Ley would be set once the spill motion was determined in Nationalsâ party room meeting.
-with AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
