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.

Asian shares made some tentative gains on Friday as beaten-down Treasuries found buyers after US President Donald Trump’s tax bill narrowly passed the lower house, although debt worries still lingered.

Overnight, PMI data around the globe showed US business activity picked up pace in May, which helped Wall Street rise earlier in the session before running into selling pressures and closing the day largely flat. In contrast, disappointingly weak activity in Europe dragged shares there lower.

Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures both were flat.

The Republican-controlled US House voted by a slim margin to pass Trump’s tax cut bill, which would fulfil many of his campaign pledges, but will increase the $US36.2 trillion ($A56.4 trillion) US debt pile by $US3.8 trillion ($A5.9 trillion) over the next decade.

Treasury yields, especially at the longer-dated end, have climbed on worries about US fiscal health in the run-up to the passage of the bill. That was exacerbated by the decision from Moody’s last week to downgrade the US credit rating, citing rising debt.

The 30-year bonds, however, did manage to find some buyers overnight with prices now at some attractive levels. Their yields fell another one basis point to 5.037 per cent on Friday, having dropped four bps to pull away from a 19-month top of 5.161 per cent earlier in the session.

“Maybe the certainty of getting something through has been enough to alleviate some of the fear, panic in the market, but as well as that, it is not unusual in big moves for there to be a bit of overshoot,” said Ken Crompton, senior interest rate strategist at the National Australia Bank.

“There is certainly nothing in this market move or the passage of this version of the bill that tells me there is going to be meaningful reductions in US bond issuance or this broader concern about global bond supply.”

In Asia, yields on super-long Japanese government bonds (JGBs) held near all-time highs on Friday. The 30-year yields have jumped 23 basis points this week and were last at 3.175 per cent, which is being monitored closely by the Bank of Japan.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.1 per cent on Friday but for the week it is still set for a loss of 0.4 per cent after five weeks of gains.

Chinese blue chips and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were largely flat.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.0 per cent as data showed Japan’s core inflation accelerated at its fastest annual pace in more than two years in April.

In the currency market, the dollar was on the back foot again and is headed for a weekly drop of 1.2 per cent against its major peers. The euro is set for the first weekly rise after four weeks of declines, and was up 0.2 per cent on Friday at $US1.1302 ($A1.7615).

US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday he still sees a path to rate cuts later this year, but noted that the outlook depends on where Trump’s tariff policy settles.

Bitcoin is set for a weekly gain of 7.0 per cent at $US111,524 ($A173,814), having touched a record high of $US111,965 ($A174,501) just on Thursday.

Oil prices fell for a fourth straight session on the prospects of further output increases by OPEC+ countries. US crude futures dropped 0.7 per cent to $US60.76 ($A94.70) a barrel and were down 2.7 per cent for the week.

Brent fell 0.6 per cent at $US64.03 ($A99.79) per barrel.

In precious metals, gold prices were flat at $US3,292 ($A5,131) an ounce, but were set for a weekly gain of 2.8 per cent.

The Liberal Party is expected to accept four policy demands made by the Nationals as a condition for the coalition getting back together.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley addressed her party room during a virtual hook up on Thursday evening, with MPs agreeing on broad support for remaining in the political marriage following the shock split.

The demands made by the Nationals are expected to be further discussed by Liberal MPs in another meeting next week.

They include a commitment to nuclear energy, divestiture powers against supermarkets, boosting phone connectivity in the bush, and a regional investment fund.

Deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan said he expected the Liberals to accept their terms.

“They’re saying that they now will, and those type of policies are really important to us,” he told Nine’s Today on Friday.

“Some of those policies took us five years to negotiate and get through the Coalition party room process, and we don’t want to lose them. 

“Otherwise they may never come back onto the policy agenda again.”

At a press conference at Parliament House on Thursday, Nationals leader David Littleproud said both leaders had agreed to hold off announcing their shadow cabinets and portfolio allocations in the hopes of a reunion.

The Nationals have flagged they would accept a commitment from the Liberals to removing the moratorium on nuclear power, rather than doubling down on the previous policy to build seven power plants.

There’s confidence an agreement can be reached, given the chaos an alternative could lead to after 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 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 its policies.

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said the convention after an election was the platform taken to a poll remained the same until explicitly removed.

“The Liberal Party changed that modus operandi,” she told Sky News.

Members on both sides of the aisle have questioned why an agreement needed to be rushed only weeks after an overwhelming election loss.

The US Mint has made its final order of penny blanks and plans to stop producing the coin when those run out, a Treasury Department official says.

An immediate annual savings of $US56 million ($A87 million) in reduced material costs is expected by stopping penny production, according to the official who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the news. 

In February, US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered his administration to cease production of the one cent coin.

Trump posted on his Truth Social site then: “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” 

He said he had instructed his Treasury secretary to stop their production.

The secretary has the authority to mint and issue coins “in amounts the secretary decides are necessary to meet the needs of the United States”.

Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost – almost four cents per penny now, according to the US Mint – and limited utility. 

Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel, which costs almost 14 cents to mint.

Pennies are the most popular coin made by the US Mint, which reported making 3.2 billion of them last year – more than half of all the new coins it made last year.

Congress, which dictates currency specifications such as the size and metal content of coins, could make Trump’s order permanent through law. 

But past congressional efforts to ditch the penny have failed.

A commission led by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has issued a report that says processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in children in the United States.

Kennedy said the commission’s report was a “clarion call to do something with utmost urgency to end this crisis” of increasing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, allergies and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.

It did not call for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on pesticides used in farming, as some farm groups had feared, and instead said the chemicals should be further researched.

It echoed previous Kennedy statements that highly processed foods and additives are health risks and that the food industry is too influential in the crafting of public health recommendations like the Dietary Guidelines.

Speaking at a press conference, he said there was a consensus to prioritise what he called the ultra-processed food crisis.

The report also takes aim at the US childhood vaccination schedule, saying the number of vaccines children are recommended to receive is more than in many European countries.

It said the links between vaccines and chronic disease and the effects of vaccine injury should be studied.

Thursday’s report outlining the causes was due this week and will be followed by policy prescriptions due in August.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission to investigate chronic illness and deliver an action plan to fight childhood diseases.

The commission is jointly run by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, with Kennedy serving as its chair and the Domestic Policy Council chief as executive director.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other cabinet members sit on it, as do federal health agency chiefs and senior White House officials.

Before the report’s publication, farm lobby groups had warned that criticising specific farm practices could impede collaboration on the administration’s health agenda and put food production at risk.

As next steps, the report called for enhanced surveillance and safety research into drugs and childhood health outcomes and clinical studies comparing whole-food to processed-food diets in children.

The report says that ultra-processed foods, which it describes as industrially-manufactured food products, are associated with poor health.

It cites infant formula as an ultra-processed food that is concerning, saying that parents are increasingly buying European brands.

Liberal MPs have broadly backed reuniting with their Nationals counterparts, but questions remain about policy demands.

The former coalition partners are edging closer to a reunion after both parties delayed the announcement of their shadow cabinet and portfolio allocations.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley addressed her party room during a virtual hook up on Thursday evening, where there was said to be broad support for remaining in a coalition but not at any cost.

The Nationals want the Liberals to commit to nuclear energy, divestiture laws, a regional investment fund and boosting phone connectivity.

Following the meeting, one Liberal source told AAP none of the policies were deal breakers.

But there are questions about details such as costings and how they would be paid for as MPs are wary about signing up with a blank cheque.

No counter offers were discussed with a second partyroom meeting to follow.

How much policy detail is agreed to is another item of discussion as MPs mull what a commitment to the rural party would look like.

The Nationals have flagged they would accept a commitment from the Liberals to removing the moratorium on nuclear power, rather than doubling down on the previous policy to build seven power plants.

There’s confidence an agreement can be reached, given the chaos an alternative could present after Labor claimed a massive lower house majority.

The Nationals pulled out of the decades-long coalition political arrangement after leader David Littleproud said he failed to get Ms Ley to recommit to 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 May 3 election defeat as the party room had to discuss all its policies.

Members on both sides of the aisle have questioned why an agreement needed to be rushed only weeks after an overwhelming election defeat.

Mr Littleproud on Thursday said the party had to take a principled stance.

“These four policy areas are important to the lives and the livelihoods of people that I represent,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Australia should not “count China out” despite a tariff war, a Reserve Bank boss says, with demand for iron ore tipped to remain high.

Reflecting on a visit to China in April, RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser says he encountered positivity from Australian companies despite Donald Trump having a week earlier announced he would impose tariffs of 145 per cent on the Asian giant.

In Shanghai, he attended a discussion across retail, agriculture, banking, finance, law, health care, manufacturing and commercial property sectors.

“What really struck me about that session was how upbeat most, if not all, of the firms were about the outlook for their businesses,” Mr Hauser told the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Thursday night.

“For anyone wanting to cut to the chase … I’ll put it more bluntly: don’t count China out.”

The central bank delegation heard similar sentiments in separate discussions with companies active in steel and iron ore.

“They saw few threats to the scale and cost advantages of Australian ore, relative to other producers in the near term,” he said.

“Their central expectation was for Chinese steel output to remain relatively robust, remaining at or near one billion tonnes a year in the near term.”

Further Chinese policy stimulus was expected to continue to involve steel-intensive infrastructure investment, despite the pivot to consumption, he said.

China is by far Australia’s biggest iron ore market and yields about $32 billion in export revenue every three months, according to the Department of Industry.

There was also a sense among Australian companies that recent developments in trade policy could enhance their competitive position in Chinese markets, Mr Hauser said.

The US tariffs on China were reduced to 30 per cent on May 12, but in forecasts released this week, RBA governor Michele Bullock noted the volatility meant there was an outside chance Australia could tip into a recession if the bank’s worst fears came to fruition.

The RBA this week cut the cash rate by a quarter point to 3.85 per cent, easing pressure on mortgage holders grappling with living costs and interest repayments.

Three other themes emerged from Mr Hauser’s visit, in which he joined an RBA team based at the Australian embassy in Beijing responsible for “taking the temperature” of the Chinese economy.

People felt the economy was finally turning a corner in early 2025, the scale, speed and scope of Mr Trump’s tariff announcements were a shock, and China felt it had a strong economic hand in responding to tariffs, he said.

The finish line is fast approaching in the race to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, sparking construction concerns for organisers.

But the International Olympic Committee has backed a 2032 venue plan after several false starts, saying the Brisbane Games are “on the right path.

Olympic heavyweights have gathered in Brisbane for a landmark meeting, receiving a 2032 update from organisers.

The three-day event that concluded on Thursday marked the first time IOC delegates have visited Australia since Brisbane was unveiled as host almost four years ago.

The 2032 venue plan was finally unveiled more than 1300 days later in March.

The clock is now ticking, with the Queensland government vowing to ensure boots on the ground to meet the 2032 deadline amid resource shortages and escalating prices in Australia.

But Brisbane 2032 boss Andrew Liveris on Thursday conceded labour availability was a potential hurdle in the final sprint to the Games.

“I agree, it’s a concern,” he told reporters.

“We are part of a bigger problem, and one that has to be solved by the current (Queensland) government … (but) they’re very dedicated to doing it.”

Inner-city Victoria Park is expected to become the Brisbane Games hub under the plan, with a 63,000-seat main stadium and a nearby national aquatic centre set to be built.

Mr Liveris did not think shovels would be in the ground for major venues until the end of 2026, warning projects had to be completed by 2031.

But he seemed pleased to finally have a venue plan after a 100-day review under the current Liberal National government.

It marked the third – and what organisers surely hope will be final – 2032 blueprint after previous Labor plans were scrapped.

“It’s really hard to plan when the plan keeps moving on you, right?” Mr Liveris said.

“We’re not out of the woods completely but … we have certainty around some pretty big decisions.”

The LNP government moved to help ensure infrastructure was built on time by passing a bill that would guarantee 2032 Olympic sites are exempt from planning laws.

They include the Environmental Protection, Queensland Heritage and Nature Conservation Acts, sparking outrage from advocacy groups.

The final plan’s delay forced the IOC to push back confirmation of Brisbane’s 2032 sports program by 12 months until 2026.

However, IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said the plan was worth the wait.

“The question is not so much that the plan has changed, but is it a better plan? The answer is yes,” he said in Brisbane on Thursday.

An advocacy group had sought an urgent meeting with the IOC during their Brisbane visit after claiming the proposed Victoria Park stadium defied the Games’ principles.

The 2032 blueprint was guided by the Olympics’ “new norm” principles aimed at avoiding massive cost blowouts that have plagued past Games.

Host cities are now encouraged to cut spending by reducing new infrastructure and using existing or temporary venues.

The Save the Victoria Park advocacy group is raising money for a legal challenge exploring the main stadium’s impact on the heritage status and environment at the park, which is celebrating its 150th year.

The group has argued Olympic venue construction would destroy valuable green space at a site of significance to First Nations communities.

However,  2032 co-ordination commission chair Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski had no concerns over the proposed site or the planning law exemption.

“We are confident that Brisbane 2032 is on the right path,” she said.

Ms Jarworski took over as chair from IOC president-elect Kirsty Coventry who was also in attendance in Brisbane along with outgoing Olympic boss Thomas Bach.

The Nationals and Liberals are back at the negotiating table, signalling the possibility of a coalition make up just days after its shock split.

Both parties revealed they will delay the announcement of their shadow cabinet and portfolio allocations after their leaders re-entered negotiations in a bid to mend the coalition’s relationship.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she had met with her National Party counterpart on Thursday and applauded his decision to return to the table.

“It has always been the Liberal Party’s objective to form a coalition and we welcome the Nationals’ decision to re-enter negotiations,” she said in a statement.

The two have already resolved a sticking point over shadow cabinet solidarity, which binds members to publicly support collective decisions, even if they disagree internally.

“I welcome it as a foundation to resolve other matters,” Ms Ley said.

An urgent party room meeting has been called for the Liberals.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said he would delay his portfolio announcements to give the Liberals more time to discuss his party’s policy requests after blowing up the coalition’s decades-long partnership this week.

“This is a positive step forward – one in which we’ve always said we’d be productive and constructive,” Mr Littleproud told reporters in Canberra.

“We didn’t do what we did on Tuesday lightly – it was a tough decision, a huge decision, and we, in a sign of good faith, have made it clear that I’m prepared to pause my announcement today.”

The Nationals allege the break up occurred because they could not secure commitments on key policies including support for nuclear energy, divestiture powers for supermarkets, a regional Australia future fund and reliable telco coverage in rural areas.

Though about a quarter of the Nationals party room disagreed with the decision to split, Mr Littleproud said the final choice was about taking a stand on issues that mattered to their constituents.

But Liberals wanted to create opportunity to discuss all policies after the coalition was dealt a thumping election defeat on May 3.

The party also said the relationship collapsed due to a disagreement over shadow cabinet solidarity, with some noting a refusal could create a situation where coalitions spokespeople would vote differently on legislation.

With both the Liberals and Nationals previously expected to unveil their shadow cabinet positions by the end of the week, the decision to postpone could have saved them from heartbreak further down the road.

Had Ms Ley made her announcement, only to reconcile with the coalition some months later, she would have had to boot a number of Liberal politicians from portfolio positions.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce hoped the situation would be resolved but noted some aspects remained unclear.

“It seems to be a bit of a bouncing ball,” he told Sky News.

“But why would you hope for a less-than-effective capacity to hold the government to account, and to be quite frank, chaos?”

The most recent coalition break up in 1987 lasted only a few months, and then-Nationals leader Ian Sinclair has told AAP such a split was “quite a healthy thing”.

The coalition could reunite just days after its shock split as the Liberal Party delays the announcement of its shadow cabinet to allow time for crisis talks between the two parties.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud revealed he will give the Liberals more time to discuss his party’s policy requests after he blew up the coalition’s decades-long partnership.

He has paused his attempt to announce portfolios for his party and in return Liberals leader Sussan Ley will not unveil her shadow ministry, which was set to be announced by the end of the week.

“This is a positive step forward – one in which we’ve always said we’d be productive and constructive,” Mr Littleproud told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

“We didn’t do what we did on Tuesday lightly – it was a tough decision, a huge decision, and we in a sign of good faith, have made it clear that I’m prepared to pause my announcement today.”

Ms Ley said the Nationals indicated said they were willing to accept shadow cabinet solidarity as part of a coalition agreement.

“This is the first time this commitment has been made and I welcome it as a foundation to resolve other matters,” she said.

“Earlier today I wrote to, and met with, David inviting him to re-enter good-faith negotiations. I am pleased he has accepted.

“It has always been the Liberal Party’s objective to form a coalition and we welcome the Nationals’ decision to re-enter negotiations.”

The Nationals allege the break up occurred because they could not secure commitments on key policies.

The Liberals claimed the conservative relationship collapsed due to a disagreement over shadow cabinet solidarity, which binds members to publicly support collective decisions, even if they disagree internally.

Mr Littleproud said his previous negotiations with Ms Ley centred on four non-negotiable policies.

These included support for nuclear energy, break-up powers for supermarkets, a regional Australia future fund and reliable telco coverage in rural areas.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said the political divorce was understandable, but regrettable.

“Let’s get over the electoral PTSD and let’s get back together again as quickly as possible,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.

“If the Libs and the Nats go their separate ways, we won’t have one strong opposition – we’ll have two opposition parties that are fighting each other as much as they’re fighting a bad government.”