The Coalition has been thrown into chaos after the entire Nationals frontbench, led by David Littleproud, resigned en masse following a bitter split over Labor's hate speech laws. The mass walkout came after Liberal leader Sussan Ley accepted the resignations of three Nationals senators who crossed the floor to oppose the legislation.
In a letter to Ley on Wednesday morning, Littleproud warned that if the resignations of Senators Ross Cadell, Bridget McKenzie and Susan McDonald were accepted, the other eight Nationals frontbenchers would also quit. Ley accepted the initial resignations but urged Littleproud to reconsider, saying no permanent changes would be made to give the party time to reflect.
The crisis erupted after the Nationals, as a party room, voted against hate speech laws drafted following the Bondi massacre. This put them at odds with the Liberal stance agreed in shadow cabinet. Ley insisted that shadow cabinet solidarity was a non-negotiable principle underpinning the Coalition agreement.
The stand-off threatens to destabilise Ley's leadership, already under pressure from poor polls and internal criticism. One Liberal MP described the mass resignation as ‘disappointing’, noting it turned a story about a Labor own goal into a Liberal crisis. The Nationals have not indicated they are leaving the Coalition, but the move has raised questions about the alliance's future.
