Australia: Coalition Splits as Nationals Quit Over Hate Speech Row

Does fault lie with the Nationals breaking shadow cabinet solidarity or with the Liberals' support of Labor's hate speech laws?

Published 6 hours ago

Australia: Coalition Splits as Nationals Quit Over Hate Speech Row

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Above: National Party Leader David Littleproud and Liberal Party Leader Sussan Ley in Parliament House on Jan. 19. Image credit: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

The Spin

Liberal Party narrative

Culpability for the collapse of the Coalition lies solely with Littleproud and the Nationals. Ley, for her part, only performed her duty to enforce shadow cabinet solidarity by accepting the resignations of the three National senators. Frontbench unity, after all, is not optional, but rather the foundation for a credible alternative to the disaster that is the Albanese government.

The Conversation Liberal Party of Australia

Conservative narrative

The National Party's continued participation under the Coalition was no longer possible thanks to the efforts of Sussan Ley. Rather than addressing the Nationals' concerns with Labor's egregious hate speech laws, Ley sought to preserve her own leadership, taking the Coalition down a path the Nationals — out of its commitment to the national interest — could not follow.

David Littleproud on X

Metaculus Prediction

Public Figures

David Littleproud

Sussan Ley