Updated ,first published
Nationals MPs who were sacked for breaching shadow cabinet solidarity would be benched for six months under a fresh demand put by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to Nationals leader David Littleproud.
The pair met on Monday night and held what both parties described as constructive talks to reform the Coalition after it blew apart last month over a dispute about shadow cabinet discipline.
Ley revealed the offer in a Liberal Party room on Tuesday morning. The offer was first reported by this masthead.
According to sources in the room, Ley said the offer she made to Littleproud included that the three senators who resigned from the shadow cabinet a fortnight ago after crossing the floor would not be eligible to sit on the frontbench until July.
Her second demand was that shadow cabinet solidarity be reaffirmed by both parties. The backbench party rooms of both parties would not be able to overturn decisions made by the shadow cabinet, a point that was queried by two conservative MPs who raised concerns about the party room’s right to have its say on party policy.
These first two demands were put to Littleproud as non-negotiable by Ley, according to party sources.
As secondary requests, the Liberals would also reclaim the shadow assistant treasurer portfolio from the Nationals, with the skills portfolio given back in return. The Liberals covet the assistant treasurer portfolio because it takes in important policy areas such as superannuation.
The Nationals would be able to pick three other MPs to fill the frontbench spots left by the resignations of Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald.
Pressure has intensified on Littleproud this week as his own MPs backed a motion to get the Coalition back together, weeks after Liberals blamed him for recklessly allowing his party to vote against Labor’s post-Bondi hate speech laws despite the shadow cabinet agreeing to back it.
But both Littleproud and Ley have boxed themselves in, with Littleproud taking a hard line on a demand to reinstate the three frontbenchers who resigned last month, which Ley and her party room oppose, and also seeking greater flexibility for Nationals to cross the floor.
While announcing the split 12 days ago, Littleproud said that the Nationals “cannot be part of a shadow ministry under Sussan Ley”, so any reconciliation would be a major backdown for the Nationals leader.
Many MPs in both parties would like to see the two parties rejoin, even though some Moderate Liberals are keen to remain apart so that the Liberals can focus on city voters. Queensland backbencher Terry Young argued the split should be long-lasting.
One Liberal MP said after Ley’s briefing that the Nationals were “parasitic” as the regional party “see the relationship with the Liberal Party as a way to enrich themselves” rather than achieve mutual success.
“Many Liberals believe that are an unworthy coalition partner. Until they adopt a new mind set we are better off without them dragging us down to their level of mediocrity,” said the MP, who spoke off the record to be candid.
“David Littleproud is no longer credible as a leader and a parliamentarian. He should consider his future,” the MP said. “Preferably a vocation that does not require any form of relationship management.”
This masthead reported on Monday that Ley’s allies, battling to stave off a challenge from leadership rival Angus Taylor, were asking MPs to keep Ley in the job until at least the time of the federal budget in May.
Speaking outside a church service to mark the opening of parliament on Tuesday, Ley said: “Very confident of delivering a strong budget in reply speech in May.”
“Lots of work between now and May because we have a big agenda to prosecute,” she said, adding that talks with Littleproud had been positive.
Littleproud retained his position after facing a failed leadership challenge from rogue Nationals MP Colin Boyce on Monday.
The Nationals leader said conversations last night between the two had been “positive” but did not end in the Coalition re-forming.
Nationals MP Darren Chester, who has been pushing Littleproud to soften and reunite with Ley, said on Tuesday that the Liberals could not determine who the Nationals appointed to the frontbench.
“I would have thought the leaders of both teams would choose their best performers in their eyes, to be on the shadow ministry, in the shadow cabinet. So that’s really a conversation they need to have behind closed doors,” he said on ABC Radio National.
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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.
Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
