Malcolm Turnbull accuses ‘stupid' Nationals of ‘holding a gun' to Liberal party's head with Coalition split
The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused the Nationals of 'holding a gun to the Liberal party's head' over the threat to split the Coalition this week, claiming the rural party been 'stupid' in its actions.
The Nationals MP Darren Chester, who was among a band of MPs pushing behind the scenes for the Coalition to mend its rift, acknowledged it was 'frustrating' for the opposition to be bickering among themselves as regional and rural areas battled floods and droughts, and urged colleagues to get on with the job.
'Much of the mid coast, the Central Coast and north coast of New South Wales is facing devastating floods including loss of life. And close to home in Victoria central and western Victoria and northern Victoria right through South Australia there's a devastating drought,' he said on ABC television.
'There are bigger issues facing rural and regional Australians than the make-up of the Coalition.'
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As the fallout from the Liberal and National argument continues ahead of opposition leader Sussan Ley convening her party room to discuss David Littleproud's policy demands, more Coalition figures are criticising the ugly stand-off.
Senior Nationals MP Michael McCormack, the former party leader and deputy prime minister, admitted the week had been 'really messy'.
'For people on the outside looking in, they just wonder what the hell is going on,' he said.
The Liberals were due to meet again on Friday, and expected to sign off on a compromise position in regards to Littleproud's four policy demands: support for nuclear power, a $20bn regional future fund, breakup powers for supermarkets and minimum standards for regional mobile and internet access.
It was understood the Liberals could agree to simply lifting the moratorium on nuclear power, rather than committing to state-funded and government-owned reactors, which Littleproud on Thursday indicated could be enough to satisfy the Nationals.
McCormack, also among those in the Coalition seeking to reunite the two parties, said he was 'very close' to Ley and urged a resolution.
'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,' he told ABC radio on Friday.
But Turnbull, the former Liberal leader and prime minister, said he was uncomfortable with how the week had played out.
'I think this holding a gun to the Liberal Party's head, which is what the Nats are doing, is really, really, really unwise,' he told the ABC's Insiders podcast.
'It's stupid politically, because if Sussan Ley agrees to it, then people will say, 'There you go again, the tail's wagging the dog. The Liberals are doing the Nationals' bidding'.'
Turnbull himself faced numerous stand-offs with maverick Nationals MPs during his leadership, including a bitter falling out with then-deputy PM Barnaby Joyce over his relationship with a former staff member, and backbencher George Christensen's threats to quit the Coalition.
Chester, a more moderate voice inside the Nationals, said the Coalition parties needed to resolve their argument quickly.
He questioned Littleproud's decision to elevate the issue of exempting the Nationals from cabinet solidarity, reportedly a negotiating point which blindsided some of his colleagues.
'I had conversations with some Liberal colleagues who I have known for a long time and respect, and pointed out to them that the issue around Cabinet solidarity was not something that I think should have been a non-negotiable point,' Chester said.
'The principles around Cabinet solidarity and shadow cabinet solidarity are well understood. If you can't agree with a position taken by the Cabinet or shadow cabinet, you stand down … I don't think that should have been a dealbreaker.'
However Chester also praised Littleproud and Ley for not having a 'dummy spit' and treating each other with respect through negotiations.
McCormack, asked if Littleproud had his full support for the future, said he was 'ambitious' for the party leader – a line echoing the notorious moment in 2018 when Scott Morrison was asked the same question about Turnbull, who he succeeded as Liberal leader just two days later following a party room spill.
Joyce, reportedly one of few Nationals MPs set to miss out on a spokesperson role if Littleproud had named a senior team of his own, told Sky News that his colleagues shouldn't 'go to war with the Liberal party'.
'I've always been of the mind to try and park this internecine issue and move on to the one that really matters, which is holding a government to account,' he said.
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