The alliance is reunited after Susan Ley brokers a deal David Little Proud To bring liberals and nationalists back together.
Little Proud has promised there will be no more rifts while he and Lay are in charge, after the two leaders made significant concessions to end a messy and damaging period for the warring conservative parties.
The opposition leader and the Nationals leader announced the peace deal at a joint press conference in Canberra on Sunday afternoon, three weeks after the Littleproud blasts. alliance And declared a political coalition under Ley as “compromising” in a split over Labour’s hate speech laws.
“Now I accept that this is a very difficult time,” Ley told reporters at Parliament House.
“This is a difficult time for millions of our Coalition supporters and many other Australians who rely on our two great parties to provide analysis and national leadership, but the Coalition is back together and not on the side of the past.”
Lay gave the Nationals until Monday to reunite with the Liberals before proceeding with a permanent Liberal-only frontbench that would cement the split.
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Under the peace deal finalized on Saturday, all former Nationals frontbenchers will be suspended from the shadow ministry until March before resuming their old portfolios.
Littleproud and the Nationals’ deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, will attend shadow cabinet and other senior leadership meetings during this period, although they do not technically hold frontbench positions.
The agreement represents a compromise from the two leaders, whose standing among their colleagues has been strained.
Lay gave last week Reunited with nationals But only if the three Nationals senators who defied Labour’s hate speech laws – Bridget McKenzie, Susan MacDonald and Ross Cadell – are handed six-month suspensions on the backbench.
But Littleproud, who initially said a coalition under Lay was “impossible”, insisted the Nationals had done nothing wrong and therefore should not be punished.
The Nationals’ position softened late last week when the party agreed that all former frontbenchers, not just three senators, would accept a short suspension.
However, the Nationalists wanted to stay away from the Liberals until then.
At the time, multiple Liberal sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Nationals’ proposal was not considered a serious offer and was likely to be rejected if not revised.
With Lee explaining his decision to the Liberal leadership team on Saturday night, the two leaders held further talks to secure a deal on Friday and Saturday.
The patch-up marks the second time the two parties have split and reformed in less than 12 months, after the Nationals briefly imploded the coalition following last year’s federal election.
Asked on Sunday if he could guarantee further cracks, Littleproud said: “Yes”.
Lay said the fact that she was present at the press conference next to Littleproud meant voters could trust her assurances that the parties had resolved their differences.
The prospect of reuniting the coalition has divided the Liberals and put more pressure on Ley as she fights to retain her leadership.
Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard and senior Conservatives have publicly intervened to argue for reconciliation, while others – including many moderates – have felt comfortable apart from the Nationals for some time.
The formation of an all-Liberal frontbench allowed Lee to promote six MPs to the Shadow Cabinet and two more to the Shadow Ministry.
The appointments will help strengthen her internal positions as conservative rival Angus Taylor faces a leadership challenge next week.
On Sunday, Le expressed confidence that she would survive as leader.
“I am very confident about the overwhelming support of my party room,” she said.
“They elected me nine months ago to lead. I said then I was ready for the job – I’m ready for the job now.”
In his clearest public statement of his intentions, Taylor said Friday that he still harbored leadership ambitions but insisted he had “no plans” to spill next week.
“I won’t tell you and your listeners that I don’t have leadership ambitions and don’t have them. I’m clear [them]. You know, that’s why I contested for leadership last time,” he told 2GB.
