Australia's National Party split from the Liberal Party, its conservative coalition partner of over 60 years, citing key policy differences after a resounding loss at a national election this month.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said it was “time to have a break” while Liberal leader Sussan Ley expressed disappointment. “We will not be re-entering a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party after this election,” Mr Littleproud said, citing policy differences.
In the recent election, Labour won a historic majority, while the Liberals suffered their worst-ever result, losing many urban seats to pro-climate independents.
The Nationals, representing rural interests, want nuclear energy, supermarket regulation, and better outback connectivity – issues they say the Liberals wouldn’t commit to. However, they’ve left the door open for future cooperation but will now operate independently.
Mr Littleproud called the decision to break the coalition “one of the hardest political decisions” of his life and added that he had a “respectful conversation” with Ms Ley.
“What this is about is taking a deep breath and saying to the Australian people, this is time apart [for] us to be better, [to] focus on them.
“I gave [Ley] the commitment that I’ll work with her every day to help to try to rebuild the relationship to the point we can re-enter a coalition before the next election.”
Ms Ley had vowed to review the party’s policies following its election defeat. On Tuesday, she expressed disappointment over the Nationals’ decision to break away, saying it followed their push for specific commitments.
“As the largest non-government political party, the Liberals will form the official opposition,” she said.
Mr Littleproud said that Ms Ley is “a leader that needs to rebuild the Liberal party, they are going on a journey of rediscovery and this will provide them the opportunity to do that”.
The Liberal-National partnership, rooted in its current form since the 1940s, has experienced multiple breaks and reunions over the decades, with the last split occurring nearly 40 years ago in 1987. At the recent election, the coalition lost 15 seats – 14 of which were Liberal-held electorates – reflecting significant nationwide swings against the Liberals.
