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David Littleproud continues to hold his position as the leader of the National Party after an unsuccessful attempt to initiate a leadership spill. The move to unseat him was spearheaded by Queensland MP Colin Boyce, but it failed to gain the necessary backing from party members to proceed to a vote.
Following the party room meeting, Nationals whip Michelle Landry addressed the media but refrained from disclosing the numbers of those who supported or opposed the motion. The lack of sufficient support meant the leadership challenge did not advance to a formal vote.
Meanwhile, discussions within the party have yet to touch upon Victorian Nationals MP Darren Chester’s proposal to mend the rift with the Liberal Party. This comes after the two parties experienced their second split since the federal election in May, this time over contentious new anti-hate legislation.
Earlier in the day, Boyce acknowledged the uphill battle he faced in attempting to depose Littleproud, indicating an awareness of the challenges inherent in his endeavor.
Earlier, Boyce had been realistic about unseating the incumbent.
“David Littleproud will remain the leader, and he will be comprehensively voted in,” he told ABC radio.
It follows nearly two weeks of infighting between the former coalition parties, triggered by a split vote on Labor’s controversial hate speech laws.
The backbencher said he was moving the motion as the Nationals were committing “political suicide” by trying to go it alone without the Liberal Party’s support.
“I’m hoping to achieve a change of leadership in the National Party and the Liberal Party, and then I hope that we can form a coalition agreement, wipe the slate clean, get rid of the egos and personalities, start afresh,” Boyce said.
Several Nationals members expected the motion to fail.
Following the Nationals party room meeting, Littleproud will meet with embattled Opposition leader Sussan Ley to negotiate reuniting the Coalition after its breakup last week.
Ley earlier announced an interim Liberal-only shadow cabinet, giving the Nationals a week-long deadline to decide whether the split would be made permanent.
If the parties aren’t reunited by the second sitting week, the Liberals plan to promote six of their MPs to the shadow cabinet and two to the outer shadow ministry.
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