Pressure is mounting on David Littleproud’s leadership of the Nationals as questions mount over the party’s split from the Liberals.
A senior Nationals MP has failed to declare his confidence in Mr Littleproud while negotiations continue between the parties to patch up their differences.
Former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack confirmed he had spoken with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley as the two parties try to mend the coalition.
Asked if Mr Littleproud had his full support, Mr McCormack replied: “I’m ambitious for him.”
It was the same comment former prime minister Scott Morrison used before he replaced Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal party leader in 2018.
“He’s been messy. He’s been really messy and for people on the outside looking in, they just wonder what the hell is going on,” Mr McCormack told the ABC.
The former Nationals leader said he wanted to see a reconciliation with the Liberals.
“Sussan and I are very close and we speak together very regularly,” Mr McCormack said.
“The Nationals walked away from the Liberals and Sussan was the newly anointed Liberal leader.
“It’s important that I did talk to her to try and get things patched up.”
Nationals MP Darren Chester acknowledged the frustration in party politics taking centre stage as several regional communities experienced devastating flooding and loss of life.
Deputy leader Kevin Hogan said while the decision to split wasn’t unanimous, it was a “very conclusive decision” by the party room.
The Liberals will meet virtually for a second time on Friday afternoon to discuss the four policy demands made by the Nationals.
Liberal MP Dan Tehan, who has been working to fix an outcome, said the parties needed to work collectively and pool resources to hold the government to account, given their diminished ranks.
“You need an effective opposition,” he told ABC Radio.
The disputed policies include nuclear energy, divestiture powers against supermarkets, boosting phone connectivity in the bush, and a regional investment fund.
The Nationals have flagged they would accept a promise from the Liberals to back the removal of a moratorium on nuclear power, rather than double down on the coalition’s previous policy to build seven power plants.
But a rift has also emerged on climate policy after Mr Littleproud left the door open to dumping a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, following a challenge to his leadership over the target.
At a press conference at Parliament House on Thursday, Mr Littleproud said both leaders agreed to hold off announcing shadow cabinets and portfolio allocations in the hopes of a reunion.
MPs are confident an agreement can be reached out of sheer need, given the demolition of the Liberal Party in Labor’s landslide election win.
The Nationals pulled out of the decades-long coalition arrangement after Mr Littleproud said he failed to get Ms Ley to recommit to the key policies they took to the election.
Ms Ley didn’t outright reject the policies during initial talks, but said she couldn’t commit to anything so soon after the election defeat as the party room had to review the loss.
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