An in-principle agreement to four key policies has paved the way for an estranged coalition to come back together after their political marriage split.
The Liberal party room met virtually on Friday, ticking off the demands the Nationals had made before breaking up their political arrangement for the first time in nearly 40 years.
The policies were removing a federal moratorium on nuclear energy, boosting rural phone connectivity, divestiture powers to keep big supermarkets in check and keeping a regional investment fund.
There have been reservations about the policies, including from Liberal free-marketeers who argue divestiture powers represent too much government intervention.
Policy details will still be the subject of negotiations given the Liberals only agreed to in-principle support.
There was a broad consensus a united opposition was more important than infighting, despite anger at how the Nationals acted when they tore apart the coalition on Tuesday.
The regional party insists it was a policy-driven split and not a power play.
“No matter how they want to dress it up, when our people in the regions are suffering way more than the people in the cities, a few polices that would help them being left on the table isn’t a big ask,” Nationals senator Ross Cadell told AAP.
Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud will now need to bury the hatchet to form a shadow cabinet, which is made up on a proportional basis of MPs from both sides.
The portfolio division is negotiated by the leaders, who then choose their respective representatives.
Finer details of a coalition agreement will also need to be hammered out.
There’s no love lost between the two leaders, going back to frequent clashes when Ms Ley was environment minister and Mr Littleproud was agriculture minister.
Mr Littleproud’s handling of the saga has led to rumblings about his leadership, but Nationals sources insist only a small cabal is agitating against him.
Asked if Mr Littleproud had his full support, former Nationals leader Michael McCormack on Friday replied: “I’m ambitious for him.”
It was the same comment former prime minister Scott Morrison used before he replaced Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal leader in 2018.
“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.
Mr McCormack’s comments came after Mr Littleproud relegated him from a shadow ministry to the backbench when he tentatively drew up portfolio allocations for Nationals MPs during the short-lived divorce.
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 Nationals party room.
At least five people had expressed reservations about the split.
Ms Ley has also faced internal criticism over how the break-up was handled as a Liberal party room meeting wasn’t convened to discuss the Nationals policy demands until after the junior partner left the coalition.
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