Updated ,first published
Talks between Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor to reach a deal on replacing Opposition Leader Sussan Ley have ended in a stalemate, as the pair canvass ideas for a joint ticket or for one of them to stand aside.
Hastie, Taylor and the other three right-wingers – senators James Paterson, Jonno Duniam and Matt O’Sullivan – met at a home in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs before the funeral of former Liberal MP Katie Allen.
Duniam and Paterson are in Ley’s inner circle and their involvement is a blow to Ley’s long-term leadership prospects, even though neither has publicly called for a spill.
Two sources familiar with the meeting, not willing to speak about it publicly, said there was no outcome yet on whether Taylor, 59, or Hastie, 43, would run as the Right faction challenger for the Liberal leadership.
The source said more talks would be needed between the pair, who are friends despite the recent leadership friction.
The pair discussed a range of options, including the pair running as a leader-deputy combination, as this masthead revealed on Saturday.
Both men made their claims to the leadership. Hastie’s supporters have been pitching the younger West Australian as a generational break who can take on a surging One Nation, while Taylor’s backers say he would offer stability and Howard-era Liberal values.
Hastie’s group have been claiming a much higher level of support within the Right faction than Taylor, but Taylor’s camp has pushed back and unaligned right-wingers say the claims of support are untested. Taylor has also been urging calm to colleagues, questioning the wisdom of a swift spill that is not handled maturely.
The deadlock means a challenge against Ley next week is unlikely, although a spill in following week remains possible.
Hastie returned to the private Athenaeum Club after Allen’s funeral and declined to comment about the meeting when questioned by this masthead.
Hastie arrived in a car with Duniam, and O’Sullivan, while Taylor arrived alone later on. They all emerged from the home with Paterson and headed to Allen’s funeral.
Duniam and O’Sullivan are housemates with Hastie in Canberra. Paterson is close to both Taylor and Hastie.
Paterson declined to speculate on how his colleagues were positioning for a potential leadership spill, but said Ley had his support.
The fact that Duniam and Paterson, both members of Ley’s leadership group, attended a discussion on a right-wing challenge bodes poorly for the current opposition leader. Duniam and Paterson are loyal foot soldiers for Ley but can likely see the writing on the wall for the struggling leader.
Earlier, Paterson told ABC Melbourne: “I wouldn’t be speaking to you this morning, as the shadow minister for finance, if she didn’t [have my support]. I understand my responsibilities under the Westminster convention.”
“The first responsibility, if you don’t support any leader, is to tell them, and the second responsibility is to resign. I haven’t done either, so you can assume I continue to support Sussan,” he said.
The Right faction will need to unite around one candidate to have any chance of toppling Ley, who was backed by Moderates and unaligned MPs when she became Liberal leader in May, a week after the Coalition’s crushing election defeat.
The split among Ley’s opponents has buoyed the confidence of the opposition leader’s camp, but continued dire polling, showing One Nation competitive with the Coalition, has many MPs yearning for an urgent overhaul of the party’s policy agenda and public messaging.
At the service for Allen at St Paul’s Cathedral, Ley arrived 15 minutes before the 10.30am service, entering the cathedral alongside the chief opposition whip, Aaron Violi. She departed with Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson.
After the service, mourners spread onto Flinders Street and Ley’s factional allies stood around her. They included former defence minister Marise Payne, Moderate leader Anne Ruston and deputy Ted O’Brien.
Taylor entered the cathedral about five minutes before the service started with former MP Alan Tudge. He avoided the gaze of thousands of mourners, moving down the east side of the cathedral to sit towards the front of the venue where seats had been allocated for Allen’s former Liberal colleagues.
As mourners were told to take their seats and the service began, Hastie snuck down the western side of the cathedral alongside Duniam.
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Paul Sakkal is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and has won Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect via X or email.
Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper’s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years’ experience.Connect via email.
