'No blinking': Sussan Ley faces first test as Nats threaten to go nuclear
The new Liberal leader is trying to finish the tricky task of finalising her frontbench while also keeping the Coalition together.
New Opposition leader Sussan Ley’s frontbench is at least a week away from being unveiled, with negotiations over a coalition agreement with the Nationals holding up the process.
Ley has thrown the door open to reversing the party’s support for net zero, a potential sticking point with the Nationals which had to be dragged to the position under former prime minister Scott Morrison and then again under Peter Dutton.
The new opposition leader has travelled to southern NSW to be with her mother, who is in end-of-life care, and has been holding detailed discussions on the make-up of her frontbench.
Climate change, including the future of the Coalition’s nuclear plan, is emerging as Ley’s first major headache as moderate Liberals push to maintain net zero despite major opposition in the Nationals party room.
