Sussan Ley says Nationals have committed to cabinet solidarity
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More news: Liberal leader Sussan Ley says the Nationals have agreed to cabinet solidarity, after talks on a new Coalition were revived.
Senior Nationals have denied Ley’s claim that they wanted their frontbenchers to have the ability to vote freely in Parliament, with Senator Bridget McKenzie insisting the decision to Split the Coalition was “solely” based on four policy demands.
Minutes after Littleproud announced he had shelved the announcement of his own frontbench, allowing the Liberals to work through the Nationals’ demands, Ley said he had committed to cabinet solidarity.
“This is the first time this commitment has been made, and I welcome it as a foundation to resolve other matters,” she said.
“In relation to the policy positions proposed by the National Party Room, consistent with my consultation commitment, the Liberal Party will consider these, utilising our party room processes.”
Ley’s own frontbench, which would have been made up exclusively of Liberals, will now not be announced until the matter is resolved.
What they said: “It has always been the Liberal Party’s objective to form a Coalition and we welcome the Nationals’ decision to re-enter negotiations,” Ley said in a statement.
Liberals to hold emergency talks as Nationals pause frontbench announcement
The news: The Liberals will hold emergency talks about the Nationals' four key demands to form a Coalition after the junior partner ended the agreement on Tuesday.
The context: Nationals leader David Littleproud revealed on Thursday that he would not yet announce his own frontbench, while Liberal counterpart Sussan Ley has also shelved her own plans as the party settles on a position.
The Liberals will meet to settle on their positions over the four demands before a post-election review, expected to take months, is concluded.
The four demands are: maintaining nuclear energy, a fund for regional Australia, powers to break up the big supermarkets, and guarantees of mobile services in regional Australia.
The development heightens the chances that a Coalition deal will be struck before Parliament returns in July.
Ley had said all policies were open to review, which the Nationals claim breached the normal Coalition routine of assuming policies are maintained after an election.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Littleproud said allowing space for the Liberals to work through their own policies was “far more important” than announcing his own frontbench.
Littleproud confirmed the Nationals would not compromise on the four demands, though he clarified that the party was not demanding the Coalition commit to state-based nuclear reactors — instead calling for a lift on the national moratorium.
Insisting the parties were not “back together”, he rejected suggestions he had “jumped the gun” by blowing up the agreement on Tuesday.
“I don't get to tell the Liberal Party that they should have a meeting to determine whether they support those policies,” he said.
Ley has suggested that she cannot agree to demands from Littleproud that Nationals frontbenchers be able to vote against Coalition policy, but he claimed that was “never” a sticking point between the parties.
And after Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said recriminations on both sides through the media breaches and “breaks trust”, Littleproud insisted the parties could still work together.
“Because Sussan and I are leading. I know that it hasn't come from Sussan and her chief of staff or my chief of staff or myself,” he said.
What they said: “I welcome this as a sign of good faith, and that's why I'm reciprocating, that I'm pausing us moving forward as a National Party alone, because I would prefer to be in a Coalition,” Littleproud said.
The source: David Littleproud press conference
