The Nationals MP Colin Boyce will challenge David Littleproud for the leadership after declaring the party was “committing political suicide” by ending the Coalition.
The Flynn MP said he would move a motion to spill the Nationals leadership at a party room meeting on Monday, and would stand as a contender.
Nationals MPs immediately dismissed Boyce’s prospects and were confident Littleproud retained the support of most colleagues despite internal unrest over his role in the second Coalition blow-up in eight months.
“I will be moving a spill motion on Monday afternoon in the National party room to give my colleagues an option, because the reality is, if they follow the course they’re on now, we are going over the political cliff,” Boyce told Sky News on Tuesday.
Confirmation of a Nationals leadership spill comes amid speculation Sussan Ley could also face a challenge when federal parliament returns next week. Ley’s allies continue to doubt that a challenge will eventuate, with conservative contenders Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie yet to declare their intentions.
Boyce said the Nationals were committing “political suicide” after it quit the Coalition following Ley’s decision to accept the resignations of three senators who crossed the floor to oppose Labor’s hate speech laws.
“The National party now faces a right-flank onslaught from One Nation if they go it alone to the next election,” Boyce said, arguing the Nationals would struggle to fundraise and lose staff numbers and other resources if it continued as a standalone party.
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Boyce, who was first elected to federal parliament in 2022, is a founding member of a club formed to promote climate science denial, and previously described blackouts as a “big political opportunity”.
At a meeting in 2023, Boyce urged like-minded colleagues to adopt a “do nothing” or “tough love” strategy that would allow power outages to build political opposition to net zero policies.
Littleproud released a statement on Wednesday, defending his record as leader, but said he respects the opinions of the party room.
“I have always respected the Party Room’s decisions and direction, that includes the right to voice different opinions … I stand by my record as leader of the Nationals and what our party room has achieved, through important policy work and standing up for regional, rural and remote Australia,” he said.
The decision to quit Ley’s frontbench en masse in solidarity with the three senators, effectively ending the Coalition, was made at the Nationals’ party room last Wednesday.
Boyce did not attend that meeting or any others during the chaotic week in Canberra, sources confirmed.
Speculation was rife that Boyce would soon follow the former Nationals leader and one-time ally Barnaby Joyce and defect to One Nation.
In the Sky News interview, Boyce denied he was moving to One Nation but said he had seen a surge in support for the rightwing party in his central Queensland seat.
“There is a huge surge up here [for One Nation],” he said.
“There’s lots of people say to me, you know, you should join One Nation and so forth. That’s not happening for me, I am a member of the LNP [Liberal National party]. I am obligated to do the best I can for the LNP and, indeed, the National party in Canberra,” he said.
Bridget McKenzie, one of the three Nationals frontbenchers who crossed the floor and handed in her resignation to Ley, said the spill motion had “come out of the blue”.
The former Nationals leader Michael McCormack told Guardian Australia he was aware Boyce had been unhappy over the Coalition split but believed Littleproud’s position was “fairly safe”.
McCormack noted the fact that colleagues who were no longer in shadow cabinet positions had lost pay, resources and staff, which could throw a “curveball” on Littleproud’s popularity.
“I think David is fairly safe on the numbers,” he said. “I’m disappointed that we are where we are because it could have been so easily avoided … it’s unfortunate that we continue to prosecute these arguments and talk about ourselves instead of the bread and butter issues.”
The Nationals senator Matt Canavan, who ran against Littleproud in a leadership vote last year, said he would not be standing this time.
“I am proud of how all the Nats have stood for our principles including our leader David. Now is the time for cooler heads to prevail,” he told Guardian Australia.
Another Nationals MP, speaking on the condition of anonymity, agreed Boyce did not have the support of the party room.
However, the MP was unsure if another colleague would stand in addition to Boyce, noting that “nobody” inside the Nationals was happy with the current situation between the Coalition parties, and that there was some anger internally at Littleproud’s actions.
Another senior National, who spoke to Guardian Australia anonymously, also sought to dismiss the challenge, and said it was unlikely Boyce would have the support of any other member in the party room.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said Boyce’s leadership challenge was further evidence of the “complete and utter farce which is the former Coalition parties”.
“The former Coalition is disintegrating. It is a bin fire of internal party politics and personality politics and when they engage in this kind of behaviour, ordinary Australians don’t get a look in,” he said.
