‘Not a marriage': Nationals Senator argues Coalition break up should be ‘on the table' but former Nationals leader says 'absolutely not'
A Queensland Nationals Senator has floated the idea of a Coalition break up, boldly declaring 'all options should be on the table'.
The soul searching is continuing within the federal Coalition after their catastrophic election defeat on Saturday, with the party currently sitting on just 40 seats compared to Labor's 88.
Speaking to Sky News Australia on Wednesday, Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said the relationship between the two parties was 'a business relationship, not a marriage', and the junior Coalition partner needed to make decisions based on 'what is in the best interest of the country'.
Senator Canavan said the National party was at its best when it was instigating policy debates within the Coalition, namely opposition to Kevin Rudd's carbon tax, and the campaign to save the Adani coal mine project despite 'a bunch of bedwetting liberals that wanted to kill it'.
'We should never be shy in the Nationals Party, of putting forward our view. I worry that we have been gun-shy in this last term of Parliament in a futile attempt to give the Liberals space, some sort of opportunity to win seats in the city. That obviously didn't work; that clearly didn't work," he said.
Asked whether he thought the Coalition should break up, Senator Canavan said the goal was to deliver for the Australian people, and he would "love to see the Liberal Party join us on that fight", but when pressed on the issue, the Queensland Senator said 'all options should be on the table'.
The comments come after former WA Premier Colin Barnett called for the two parties to officially merge, arguing it would simplify the structure, reduce costs and provide the reset the Coalition needs.
'The Liberal Party and the National Party would be in a stronger position if they merged,' Mr Barnett told The Australian.
The former WA Premier, who led the state from 2008 to 2017, said the current arrangement was 'wasting resources' and causing 'unnecessary competition'.
'The National Party probably won't want to do that because they like to be the rural party, but younger voters, I think, don't really care and they just think: 'Why aren't these two right-of-centre parties just one party?',' the former Premier said.
Former Nationals Leader and current Riverina MP Michael McCormack rejected both a break up of the Coalition and a merger, stating that while all policy should be 'on the table' this should 'absolutely not' include the scrapping of the Coalition agreement.
'We've been much stronger, as John Howard always said, when we're in a coalition with the Liberal Party,' Mr McCormack said.
'Agriculture and business does a lot better when we've got a strong coalition government in power in Canberra, and I'm very much a proponent of the Coalition staying as well.'
The former Nationals leader then took a swing at the former WA Premier's proposal of a merger.
'I see Colin Barnett, the former WA Premier, is out giving plenty of frank, free advice about the LNP merging. I'm not in favour of a merger. I'm just in favour of a Coalition. I think the Coalition is Australia's best form of government."
The Liberal and National parties have been merged in Queensland since 2008, with federal MPs running under the Liberal National Party branding before splitting into Liberal and National partyrooms in Canberra.
But the merger remains controversial among party members in the sunshine state, with many Liberals continuing to deride it as a Nationals takeover of their party.
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The commission has not received a notification from China that it has conducted any inspection, but Chinese officials have become active in debate over the rules on boardings, WCPFC executive director Rhea Moss-Christian told Reuters. China last year called for a review of the guidelines, and in March, Chinese officials attended a video meeting about an Australian-led effort to strengthen voluntary rules, she said. WCPFC inspectors in international waters need to gain permission for each inspection from the suspected vessel's flag state before boarding. Rahari said it could be "very complicated" diplomatically if a Chinese coast guard vessel sought to board a Taiwanese fishing boat. Beijing does not recognise Taiwan as a separate country. Chinese officials and the Chinese Coast Guard did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Australia declined to comment, while Taiwan and the US Coast Guard did not respond to requests for comment. 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"Hosting the leaders, demonstrating their capabilities in terms of maritime operations, those kind of things are indications they want to step into that space," said Allan Rahari, director of fisheries operations for the Forum Fisheries Agency, told Reuters. The agency runs enforcement against illegal fishing for a group of 18 Pacific Island countries, with assistance from navy and air force patrols by Australia, the United States, France and New Zealand. The biggest fishing fleets in the Pacific, attracting the most infringement notices by inspectors, are Chinese and Taiwanese. But China is also the largest fisheries partner to some Pacific Island countries, and Rahari said agreements for Chinese coast guard patrols in coastal waters could be struck under security deals with these countries. China registered 26 coast guard vessels with the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in 2024 for high seas boarding and inspections in a vast region where the US and Australia have the biggest inspection fleets. The commission has not received a notification from China that it has conducted any inspection, but Chinese officials have become active in debate over the rules on boardings, WCPFC executive director Rhea Moss-Christian told Reuters. China last year called for a review of the guidelines, and in March, Chinese officials attended a video meeting about an Australian-led effort to strengthen voluntary rules, she said. WCPFC inspectors in international waters need to gain permission for each inspection from the suspected vessel's flag state before boarding. Rahari said it could be "very complicated" diplomatically if a Chinese coast guard vessel sought to board a Taiwanese fishing boat. Beijing does not recognise Taiwan as a separate country. Chinese officials and the Chinese Coast Guard did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Australia declined to comment, while Taiwan and the US Coast Guard did not respond to requests for comment. Papua New Guinea (PNG) foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko said 10 Pacific Island ministers saw the Chinese coast guard demonstrate a maritime emergency drill, but told Reuters they did not discuss Pacific patrols. PNG is negotiating a new defence treaty with Australia, and struck a 2023 security deal with the United States allowing the US Coast Guard to patrol PNG's 2.7 million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. Fiji said it had approved a new maritime security agreement with Australia this week. Under a security treaty struck in December, Nauru must notify Australia before the Chinese navy comes to port. 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The fisheries officials said it was anticipated China will soon begin patrols in a "crowded" fisheries surveillance space. "Hosting the leaders, demonstrating their capabilities in terms of maritime operations, those kind of things are indications they want to step into that space," said Allan Rahari, director of fisheries operations for the Forum Fisheries Agency, told Reuters. The agency runs enforcement against illegal fishing for a group of 18 Pacific Island countries, with assistance from navy and air force patrols by Australia, the United States, France and New Zealand. The biggest fishing fleets in the Pacific, attracting the most infringement notices by inspectors, are Chinese and Taiwanese. But China is also the largest fisheries partner to some Pacific Island countries, and Rahari said agreements for Chinese coast guard patrols in coastal waters could be struck under security deals with these countries. 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Chinese officials and the Chinese Coast Guard did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Australia declined to comment, while Taiwan and the US Coast Guard did not respond to requests for comment. Papua New Guinea (PNG) foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko said 10 Pacific Island ministers saw the Chinese coast guard demonstrate a maritime emergency drill, but told Reuters they did not discuss Pacific patrols. PNG is negotiating a new defence treaty with Australia, and struck a 2023 security deal with the United States allowing the US Coast Guard to patrol PNG's 2.7 million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. Fiji said it had approved a new maritime security agreement with Australia this week. Under a security treaty struck in December, Nauru must notify Australia before the Chinese navy comes to port. 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Chinese officials and the Chinese Coast Guard did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Australia declined to comment, while Taiwan and the US Coast Guard did not respond to requests for comment. Papua New Guinea (PNG) foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko said 10 Pacific Island ministers saw the Chinese coast guard demonstrate a maritime emergency drill, but told Reuters they did not discuss Pacific patrols. PNG is negotiating a new defence treaty with Australia, and struck a 2023 security deal with the United States allowing the US Coast Guard to patrol PNG's 2.7 million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. Fiji said it had approved a new maritime security agreement with Australia this week. Under a security treaty struck in December, Nauru must notify Australia before the Chinese navy comes to port. The US Coast Guard has maritime law enforcement agreements with a dozen Pacific Island nations allowing it to enter nations' exclusive economic zones, and increased its patrols last year. "The key considerations for China is stepping into that space without stepping on other partners toes, because that will then create conflicts within the region and that is something we don't want," Rahari said.
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Australia should not ‘relinquish' biosecurity standards for US
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