The coalition has promised teamwork and unity after a chaotic year involving two divorces and fresh leaders.
Queensland senator Matt Canavan was elected as the new Nationals leader on Wednesday, with Victorian MP Darren Chester elevated to deputy after David Littleproud announced he was “buggered” and quit the role.
The former Nationals leader’s departure shocked members of his party as well as backers of ousted Liberal leader Sussan Ley, after Mr Littleproud split the coalition twice.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor toppled Ms Ley in February, with the new Liberal and Nationals leaders vowing at their first joint press conference to work through any future disagreements to prevent another split.
“Matt and I have worked together over many, many years very successfully and we have a very strong, long standing relationship and we are both strong coalitionists,” Mr Taylor told reporters while at a Canberra steel manufacturer on Thursday.
“We’re going to have a wonderful, beautiful relationship as a Liberal-National coalition.”
Mr Canavan said he already had a strong relationship with the Liberal leader, but said there may be differences on policy down the track.
“This is an incredibly strong relationship, because Angus and I are great mates, really good mates, (going) back a long way,” he said.
“We’ve got a great Nationals Party team as well, and sometimes we do disagree, but I’m confident that, given my great relationship with Angus, we’ll work those disagreements out.”
Breaking up the coalition for the second time since the 2025 federal election, Mr Littleproud said no one within the Nationals could serve in a shadow cabinet under Ms Ley.
He blamed her for the split after she accepted the resignations of three Nationals senators who breached shadow cabinet solidarity by voting against an agreed position on hate crimes laws in the upper house last month.
While the two leaders were able to mend the fracture, the instability ultimately lead to Ms Ley being dumped as the opposition leader.
Mr Taylor said cabinet solidarity will be maintained through its usual “processes”.
Consecutive polls have revealed disastrous results for the coalition, with the political alliance’s primary vote plunging to record lows.
One Nation has made significant gains in the polls, taking over the coalition as the second party of choice among voters, alarming conservatives they might face a wipe-out at the next federal election.
The Nationals are at risk of losing all of their seats in regional NSW and Queensland to Pauline Hanson’s party, which is expected to perform particularly well in those states, based on polling.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie admitted winning the upcoming Farrer by-election, which was triggered by Ms Ley’s resignation from parliament, will be a “huge test”.
“We’re all focused on the by-election going forward, it’s going to be a huge test not just for the Nationals or the Liberal Party or One Nation, but I think for the Labor Party,” she told Sky News.
“When the prime minister came to power, he said he was going to govern for everybody.
“Well, that also means us out of capital cities and to not even field a candidate, I think says a lot about the Labor party’s reflection on the region.”
A backer of Sussan Ley said some Liberal politicians were “incredulous” at Mr Littleproud’s decision to step down.
“What he did to Sussan Ley was awful and many on the right view his actions as interference into the party’s internal workings,” the parliamentarian said.
“The whole thing is unsavoury.”
The Liberal said there were reservations within the Nationals that Mr Littleproud couldn’t take on One Nation sufficiently.
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