The Liberal and National parties have ended their decades-long coalition agreement, a partnership that has been essential for conservatives to hold power in Australia. Nationals leader David Littleproud informed Liberal leader Sussan Ley on Tuesday that the country party would not sign a new coalition agreement after the Liberals refused to accept four key policy demands: support for nuclear power, a $20bn regional future fund, supermarket breakup powers, and minimum standards for regional mobile and internet access.
The Nationals also had a fifth, unmentioned demand: allowing shadow cabinet members to cross the floor to vote against their own side, according to a senior Liberal source. Ley refused to lock the Liberals into any positions, honouring her promise to colleagues after winning the leadership that all policies, including net zero and nuclear, would be up for review with no 'captain's calls'.
The split highlights the vastly different positions the two parties find themselves in. The Nationals felt emboldened after winning internal arguments on nuclear and supermarket divestiture, and front-running the 'no' case in the voice to parliament referendum. The party held all its seats in the recent election, although it failed to win back the regional New South Wales seat of Calare.
While Ley and her senior colleagues wanted to remain in a coalition, the breakup may benefit the Liberals by providing clear air as they wrestle with their policies, purpose, and direction. Without Nationals to accommodate in shadow cabinet, Ley's task of appeasing her divided party becomes easier. However, neither party has the numbers to form government alone, making a reunion likely in the future to regain power.
