Share and Follow
“He has every right to contest the leadership,” Littleproud remarked during an interview with Today.
“I’ll seek advice from my colleagues and respect their guidance and decisions,” he added.
Expressing his deep commitment to the National Party, Littleproud stated, “Regardless of the outcome, I’ll stand by it.”
He emphasized that the Nationals aim to avoid a party room where decisions are made without collective input.
Littleproud also defended the party’s stance, asserting that they “did nothing wrong” in their decision to part ways with the Coalition over hate speech legislation.
The National Party voted against new hate speech laws last month after their unsuccessful amendment to the bill.
Nationals senators Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald and Ross Cadell quit the frontbench after opposing the Coalition’s position on the laws.
“We can’t be expected to be forced to vote a particular way, because our Coalition partner wants us to do that,” Littleproud said.
“We’ve got a right to stand up and be counted.”
Boyce said he will move a spill motion against Littleproud’s leadership at the Nationals’ partyroom meeting tomorrow.
Littleproud’s leadership will likely remain safe despite Boyce vying to unseat him, according to Nine political editor Charles Croucher.
“I think David Littleproud is pretty safe. I mean, Colin Boyce would admit, I think if put into some kind of honesty chamber, that he’s not going to win this challenge,” Croucher said.
He said Littleproud should be spooked by the surge in popularity for Pauline Hanson’s party.
“This could be the final step, the final warning, the final plea to the Nationals that shift across to One Nation,” he said.
“One Nation is on the rise, the Coalition’s numbers are shrinking and Sussan Ley’s personnel are shrinking as well.”
Boyce, who has been in federal parliament since 2022, has previously said the Nationals needed to change direction, and remain in the Coalition to challenge the increasing threat from One Nation.
He announced last week that he will challenge Littleproud for the leadership of their party, describing the decision to split the Coalition for the second time in a year as “political suicide”.
NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.