US EditionLey Stared Down Littleproud’s Threat to Walk. He Did, and the Coalition’s in Ruins
Three Nationals senators resigned after opposing Labor's hate speech bill, breaking party unity despite attempts to secure speech protections, Opposition Leader accepted resignations.
- Wednesday saw three Nationals senators—Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald—resign from Opposition Leader Sussan Ley's front bench, with Ley accepting their resignations after they voted against the hate crimes bill in the Senate.
- The Shadow Cabinet had on Sunday night agreed to negotiate fixes and be bound, while Nationals leader David Littleproud warned 20 minutes before the vote that the party would oppose the bill if amendments guaranteeing protections for freedom of speech failed.
- Senate records show a 38–22 passage of the bill, with Labor and the Liberal Party aligned while Ross Cadell and Nationals backbencher Matt Canavan voted against it, citing real fears.
- The walkout immediately deepened turmoil for Sussan Ley’s leadership after all 11 Nationals MPs, including David Littleproud, walked away from the shadow ministry in protest.
- The laws were introduced in response to the December 14 Bondi terrorist attack, and the Nationals’ defiance contradicted a party room vote, handing political leverage to Pauline Hanson and One Nation.
23 Articles
23 Articles
View from The Hill: Coalition crisis explodes after Sussan Ley wields the whip against defiant Nationals
The federal Coalition was imploding on Wednesday night, with all Nationals frontbenchers, including leader David Littleproud, quitting the shadow ministry. They were retaliating against Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s insistence three Nationals senators must resign for defying shadow cabinet solidarity. The Nationals ratified the mass walkout in a special party hook up at 6pm. This followed Ley accepting the resignation of the trio – Bridget McKe…
Sydney Morning Herald
Ley stared down Littleproud’s threat to walk. He did, and the Coalition’s in ruins
The opposition leader accepted the resignation of three frontbenchers on Wednesday afternoon for breaking cabinet solidarity. By Wednesday night, all of the Nationals frontbenchers decided to walk.
Nationals quit the frontbench as Coalition implodes
The Coalition is on the verge of a break-up after Opposition Leader Sussan Ley accepted the resignations of three rebel Nationals from the shadow ministry, prompting their boss David Littleproud and the remaining seven Nats to also quit.
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