Nationals leader David Littleproud has declared he is “pretty relaxed” about speculation that members of his own party may be working to oust him.
Amid the fallout from the Liberals and Nationals weeklong split, speculation has arisen that members of Mr Littleproud’s party were plotting against him.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley reached out to National MPs who opposed the decision to temporarily abandon the Coalition, sparking rumours about a leadership coup.
Despite this, Mr Littleproud told Sky News Sunday Agenda he didn’t know if former leaders Barnaby Joyce or Michael McCormack were plotting to replace him.
“Well, I don’t know, mate, but I’m pretty relaxed. Since I’ve been leader, I’ve been prepared to take the tough decisions,” he said.
“To make the decision on the Voice, on divestiture, on nuclear, on the (Regional Australia Future Fund). I led a party that backed those decisions.”
His comments come after an extraordinary week in conservative politics, during which the Nationals temporarily withdrew from Coalition negotiations.
The break was triggered by what Mr Littleproud described as a failure by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to guarantee support for four key policy demands.
Those demands included powers to break up supermarkets, lifting the moratorium on nuclear power and creating a $20 billion Regional Australia Future Fund.
Some prominent Nationals members including former leaders Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack have criticised how Mr Littleproud handled the situation.
However, Mr Littleproud said the decision to walk away was made collectively by his party room, and that he was simply acting on their direction.
The Coalition has since agreed “in principle” to all four of the Nationals’ policy demands.
“The fact that we got an outcome in two or three days because of the principles over politics—the men and women of my party room stood up,” he said.
“I’m proud of them. I’m proud of the fact the vast majority (backed me)… If I have to lose my job for it, I don’t care.”
Mr Littleproud rejected claims that the Nationals had walked out over internal power dynamics or cabinet solidarity, saying the dispute was “a red herring”.
“We didn’t blink. The National Party didn’t blink. We made it very clear these were important to us. This was a principled decision,” he said.
