The Nationals have split from the Liberal Party and will not re-enter into the Coalition agreement following the devastating federal election defeat, leader David Littleproud has announced.
Littleproud said he and Liberal counterpart Sussan Ley couldn’t come to an agreement on a range of policy positions, including nuclear energy, a regional Australia future fund, and forced supermarket divestiture, but that both had committed to attempting to renew the Coalition before the next election.
Until then though, the Nationals will no longer be a part of the official opposition, and its MPs and senators will not be given any shadow cabinet positions.
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Littleproud said the decision came after discussions with new Liberal leader Ley in recent days.
“This morning, after the discussions that both Sussan Ley and I have had over the ensuing period, our party room has got to a position where we will not be re-entering a Coalition agreement with the Liberal Party after this election,” he said.
“What we have got to a position is that the National Party will sit alone on a principle basis.
“On the basis of looking forward, not having to look back and to try and actually regain important policy pieces that change the lives of the people we represent.”
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Littleproud said the split would give Ley, who was elected Liberal leader just last Wednesday, and her party time and space to determine its path forward following its landslide election defeat.
The Liberal Party has faced calls to come back to the “sensible centre” of politics and re-work its policy offerings to give it a path back to victory in inner-city and suburban seats that it was all but wiped out of at the election, particularly in regards to the economy, energy and climate, and women.
Littleproud said that the Nationals will continue to pursue nuclear energy.
”That is a brave assessment to say (Australians) voted against nuclear energy,” he said.
“I don’t think that was the reason, it was more about a scare campaign on nuclear and Medicare.
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The Nationals will also continue to oppose any live export ban, as well as calling for a regional future fund, and the forced break-up of the major supermarket chains.
“We’ve been very principled about (supermarket divestiture), about the impact it’s had on farmers but also the impact that it’s had on the Australian consumer, whether they be in metro or rural areas,” he said.
Littleproud said from the outset that the discussions between him and Ley went at the Liberal leader’s pace due to her mother’s failing health and death on Saturday.
“I made myself available to go to Albury when she wanted to initiate those discussions, rather than making her come to Canberra,” he said.
“I took the decision to drive to Albury and to start those negotiations when she was ready. And then, obviously, after the sad passing of her mother, we made it very clear, we didn’t need to enter into any further discussions until she was ready…
“My thoughts are still with Sussan and her family for the loss of Sussan’s mother.”
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This isn’t the first time the Nationals and Liberal Party have failed to renew their Coalition agreement since the latter was founded in 1944.
Following Gough Whitlam’s “It’s Time” victory in 1972, the parties didn’t form a combined opposition.
However, they returned to their usual partnership for the 1974 election, which saw Whitlam win again.
More than 10 years later, the campaign by Queensland Nationals Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson to become prime minister – effectively usurping the prerogative of leadership from the Liberals – again split the Coalition.
The Liberals and Nationals parted company from April to August 1987, but today’s split is the first since they came together in the aftermath of Bob Hawke’s shattering Labor victory that year.
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