Commitment issues: Nationals walk away from coalition
Liberal and National leaders hope their parties can reunite before the next election following a bitter break up over policy issues.
The Nationals walked away from the coalition on Tuesday, marking the third split between the conservative political allies in 80 years and the first since 1987.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party had taken a principled stance on issues important to them, while giving the Liberals clear air to rebuild and decide on their future direction.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley starred down four demands from the Nationals, saying the Liberals needed time to debate any future policies after a bruising election defeat.
"I am disappointed, I do want the coalition to come together," she told reporters in Canberra.
Liberals and Nationals meet after every election to nut out the details of a coalition agreement and determine the make up of frontbench positions and portfolios.
Detailed policy proposals are often developed between the two parties.
These included remaining committed to nuclear energy, divestiture powers to break up big supermarkets, a $20 billion investment fund that would disperse $1 billion a year on regional infrastructure and universal phone services.
Landlines and payphones must have service no matter where they are in Australia but this doesn't extend to mobile phones, which the Nationals have been fighting to include.
The Nationals didn't want to have to re-prosecute the case to retain policies it fought for under the previous agreement.
Mr Littleproud denied there was a barney over the carve up of portfolios and cabinet spots, which are allocated between the coalition partners on a proportional basis.
"This wasn't about the spoils of defeat, this was about principle," Mr Littleproud told reporters.
"Making sure that those hard-fought wins are maintained and respected and we continue to look forward."
Ms Ley said there needed to be open party room debate to reach positions on polices after a crushing election defeat on May 3.
The Liberals hold fewer than 30 of 150 lower house seats and the Nationals 15.
Both leaders left the door open to a future agreement.
Mr Ley said the Liberals and Nationals were stronger as a coalition and this was proven in 1996 when John Howard would have been able to govern in his own right but still chose to work with the regional party.
But getting back together could be more complicated because members of an all-Liberal shadow cabinet would need to be dumped to make way for Nationals.
Ms Ley said she offered to press ahead with a joint shadow ministry but this offer was rejected by the Nationals.
There was a discussion about whether National shadow cabinet members could split off to vote for the four policies but there were contradicting claims from the two camps.
Cabinet members are expected to defend the party's position or resign while coalition backbenchers are free to cross the floor and vote against party policies.
Ms Ley said cabinet solidarity wasn't explicitly agreed to but Nationals say this wasn't a sticking point.
Climate change targets remain a thorny issue within the Nationals.
The party's platform includes a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but some elected members want to abandon the pledge.
The coalition split doesn't impact the government's ability to pass legislation through parliament, with Labor commanding a majority in the lower house and only needing the Greens in the Senate.
Liberal and National leaders hope their parties can reunite before the next election following a bitter break up over policy issues.
The Nationals walked away from the coalition on Tuesday, marking the third split between the conservative political allies in 80 years and the first since 1987.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party had taken a principled stance on issues important to them, while giving the Liberals clear air to rebuild and decide on their future direction.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley starred down four demands from the Nationals, saying the Liberals needed time to debate any future policies after a bruising election defeat.
"I am disappointed, I do want the coalition to come together," she told reporters in Canberra.
Liberals and Nationals meet after every election to nut out the details of a coalition agreement and determine the make up of frontbench positions and portfolios.
Detailed policy proposals are often developed between the two parties.
These included remaining committed to nuclear energy, divestiture powers to break up big supermarkets, a $20 billion investment fund that would disperse $1 billion a year on regional infrastructure and universal phone services.
Landlines and payphones must have service no matter where they are in Australia but this doesn't extend to mobile phones, which the Nationals have been fighting to include.
The Nationals didn't want to have to re-prosecute the case to retain policies it fought for under the previous agreement.
Mr Littleproud denied there was a barney over the carve up of portfolios and cabinet spots, which are allocated between the coalition partners on a proportional basis.
"This wasn't about the spoils of defeat, this was about principle," Mr Littleproud told reporters.
"Making sure that those hard-fought wins are maintained and respected and we continue to look forward."
Ms Ley said there needed to be open party room debate to reach positions on polices after a crushing election defeat on May 3.
The Liberals hold fewer than 30 of 150 lower house seats and the Nationals 15.
Both leaders left the door open to a future agreement.
Mr Ley said the Liberals and Nationals were stronger as a coalition and this was proven in 1996 when John Howard would have been able to govern in his own right but still chose to work with the regional party.
But getting back together could be more complicated because members of an all-Liberal shadow cabinet would need to be dumped to make way for Nationals.
Ms Ley said she offered to press ahead with a joint shadow ministry but this offer was rejected by the Nationals.
There was a discussion about whether National shadow cabinet members could split off to vote for the four policies but there were contradicting claims from the two camps.
Cabinet members are expected to defend the party's position or resign while coalition backbenchers are free to cross the floor and vote against party policies.
Ms Ley said cabinet solidarity wasn't explicitly agreed to but Nationals say this wasn't a sticking point.
Climate change targets remain a thorny issue within the Nationals.
The party's platform includes a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but some elected members want to abandon the pledge.
The coalition split doesn't impact the government's ability to pass legislation through parliament, with Labor commanding a majority in the lower house and only needing the Greens in the Senate.
Liberal and National leaders hope their parties can reunite before the next election following a bitter break up over policy issues.
The Nationals walked away from the coalition on Tuesday, marking the third split between the conservative political allies in 80 years and the first since 1987.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party had taken a principled stance on issues important to them, while giving the Liberals clear air to rebuild and decide on their future direction.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley starred down four demands from the Nationals, saying the Liberals needed time to debate any future policies after a bruising election defeat.
"I am disappointed, I do want the coalition to come together," she told reporters in Canberra.
Liberals and Nationals meet after every election to nut out the details of a coalition agreement and determine the make up of frontbench positions and portfolios.
Detailed policy proposals are often developed between the two parties.
These included remaining committed to nuclear energy, divestiture powers to break up big supermarkets, a $20 billion investment fund that would disperse $1 billion a year on regional infrastructure and universal phone services.
Landlines and payphones must have service no matter where they are in Australia but this doesn't extend to mobile phones, which the Nationals have been fighting to include.
The Nationals didn't want to have to re-prosecute the case to retain policies it fought for under the previous agreement.
Mr Littleproud denied there was a barney over the carve up of portfolios and cabinet spots, which are allocated between the coalition partners on a proportional basis.
"This wasn't about the spoils of defeat, this was about principle," Mr Littleproud told reporters.
"Making sure that those hard-fought wins are maintained and respected and we continue to look forward."
Ms Ley said there needed to be open party room debate to reach positions on polices after a crushing election defeat on May 3.
The Liberals hold fewer than 30 of 150 lower house seats and the Nationals 15.
Both leaders left the door open to a future agreement.
Mr Ley said the Liberals and Nationals were stronger as a coalition and this was proven in 1996 when John Howard would have been able to govern in his own right but still chose to work with the regional party.
But getting back together could be more complicated because members of an all-Liberal shadow cabinet would need to be dumped to make way for Nationals.
Ms Ley said she offered to press ahead with a joint shadow ministry but this offer was rejected by the Nationals.
There was a discussion about whether National shadow cabinet members could split off to vote for the four policies but there were contradicting claims from the two camps.
Cabinet members are expected to defend the party's position or resign while coalition backbenchers are free to cross the floor and vote against party policies.
Ms Ley said cabinet solidarity wasn't explicitly agreed to but Nationals say this wasn't a sticking point.
Climate change targets remain a thorny issue within the Nationals.
The party's platform includes a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but some elected members want to abandon the pledge.
The coalition split doesn't impact the government's ability to pass legislation through parliament, with Labor commanding a majority in the lower house and only needing the Greens in the Senate.
Liberal and National leaders hope their parties can reunite before the next election following a bitter break up over policy issues.
The Nationals walked away from the coalition on Tuesday, marking the third split between the conservative political allies in 80 years and the first since 1987.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party had taken a principled stance on issues important to them, while giving the Liberals clear air to rebuild and decide on their future direction.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley starred down four demands from the Nationals, saying the Liberals needed time to debate any future policies after a bruising election defeat.
"I am disappointed, I do want the coalition to come together," she told reporters in Canberra.
Liberals and Nationals meet after every election to nut out the details of a coalition agreement and determine the make up of frontbench positions and portfolios.
Detailed policy proposals are often developed between the two parties.
These included remaining committed to nuclear energy, divestiture powers to break up big supermarkets, a $20 billion investment fund that would disperse $1 billion a year on regional infrastructure and universal phone services.
Landlines and payphones must have service no matter where they are in Australia but this doesn't extend to mobile phones, which the Nationals have been fighting to include.
The Nationals didn't want to have to re-prosecute the case to retain policies it fought for under the previous agreement.
Mr Littleproud denied there was a barney over the carve up of portfolios and cabinet spots, which are allocated between the coalition partners on a proportional basis.
"This wasn't about the spoils of defeat, this was about principle," Mr Littleproud told reporters.
"Making sure that those hard-fought wins are maintained and respected and we continue to look forward."
Ms Ley said there needed to be open party room debate to reach positions on polices after a crushing election defeat on May 3.
The Liberals hold fewer than 30 of 150 lower house seats and the Nationals 15.
Both leaders left the door open to a future agreement.
Mr Ley said the Liberals and Nationals were stronger as a coalition and this was proven in 1996 when John Howard would have been able to govern in his own right but still chose to work with the regional party.
But getting back together could be more complicated because members of an all-Liberal shadow cabinet would need to be dumped to make way for Nationals.
Ms Ley said she offered to press ahead with a joint shadow ministry but this offer was rejected by the Nationals.
There was a discussion about whether National shadow cabinet members could split off to vote for the four policies but there were contradicting claims from the two camps.
Cabinet members are expected to defend the party's position or resign while coalition backbenchers are free to cross the floor and vote against party policies.
Ms Ley said cabinet solidarity wasn't explicitly agreed to but Nationals say this wasn't a sticking point.
Climate change targets remain a thorny issue within the Nationals.
The party's platform includes a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but some elected members want to abandon the pledge.
The coalition split doesn't impact the government's ability to pass legislation through parliament, with Labor commanding a majority in the lower house and only needing the Greens in the Senate.
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An easily beguiled Australia was along for the ride, unlawful and unethical as it all was. Yet an Australian equivalent of the Chilcot process was never embarked on in the years after. Lessons went unlearned. When it was unveiled in September 2021, AUKUS quickly became the new big thing - one of those binary faith questions in mainstream politics and most media. There were only two types: believers and apostates. The tripartite Anglophone deal for nuclear subs came as a rude shock to the French who had been contracted (by the Turnbull government) to build our next generation of conventionally powered submarines. The costs were gargantuan but the long-term punt on unfailing US delivery was far greater because it relied on future administrations and unknowable security challenges in the decades ahead. Change of president? No worries. Everybody in Washington is onboard, the story went. Now, with Anthony Albanese on his way to the Americas for a possible first-ever meeting with Donald Trump, AUKUS is suddenly under active review to assess its consistency with Trump's populist rubric, "America First". Few really know where Trump stands or if he has ever thought about AUKUS. What is clear is that the president's acolytes are fuming about Australian sanctions on far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet and are looking askance at Albanese's recent statements affirming Australia's exclusive right to set levels of defence spending. Then there's the whole trade/tariff argument. READ MORE: These eddies will make for trickier conditions than Albanese might have imagined only days ago. Might it even see a bilateral meeting delayed or downgraded as a rebuke to Australia? With friends like Trump, literally anything is possible. Which, by the way, is why blind faith in AUKUS has always been disreputable. With the precision of a barrister and the venom of a politician betrayed, Malcolm Turnbull has torpedoed the credulous heart of Australia's multibillion-dollar AUKUS evangelism, raising the question: are we the only true believers? If the answer turns out to be yes, and we may know soon, the unhealthy consensus between our two major parties will have been exposed as the most naive conflation of our security interests with those of another country since Iraq, or even Vietnam. "The UK is conducting a review of AUKUS" the former Liberal prime minister tweeted. "The US DoD [dept of defence] is conducting a review of AUKUS. But Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our Parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?" Maybe. We don't really do introspection and we're not much inclined towards looking backwards, either. To its credit, the UK allowed seven years for its Chilcot inquiry into Britain's disastrous enthusiasm for the Iraq invasion. It found that non-military options had been deliberately overlooked, that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, and that the UK had too willingly agreed with America in sexing up intelligence. An easily beguiled Australia was along for the ride, unlawful and unethical as it all was. Yet an Australian equivalent of the Chilcot process was never embarked on in the years after. Lessons went unlearned. When it was unveiled in September 2021, AUKUS quickly became the new big thing - one of those binary faith questions in mainstream politics and most media. There were only two types: believers and apostates. The tripartite Anglophone deal for nuclear subs came as a rude shock to the French who had been contracted (by the Turnbull government) to build our next generation of conventionally powered submarines. The costs were gargantuan but the long-term punt on unfailing US delivery was far greater because it relied on future administrations and unknowable security challenges in the decades ahead. Change of president? No worries. Everybody in Washington is onboard, the story went. Now, with Anthony Albanese on his way to the Americas for a possible first-ever meeting with Donald Trump, AUKUS is suddenly under active review to assess its consistency with Trump's populist rubric, "America First". Few really know where Trump stands or if he has ever thought about AUKUS. What is clear is that the president's acolytes are fuming about Australian sanctions on far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet and are looking askance at Albanese's recent statements affirming Australia's exclusive right to set levels of defence spending. Then there's the whole trade/tariff argument. READ MORE: These eddies will make for trickier conditions than Albanese might have imagined only days ago. Might it even see a bilateral meeting delayed or downgraded as a rebuke to Australia? With friends like Trump, literally anything is possible. Which, by the way, is why blind faith in AUKUS has always been disreputable.
