The federal Coalition has reunited after its decades-long partnership was nearly blown apart by the Nationals in the wake of Labor’s resounding re-election.
After eight days of meetings, Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud have reached an agreement over four key policies that led to the split.
The policies – nuclear electricity, powers to break up the supermarket duopoly, better mobile coverage in rural areas, and the Regional Future Fund – will now be exempt from a review into why the Coalition did so poorly in the election.
‘The gang’s back together,’ Daily Mail political editor Peter Van Onselen said.
‘After weeks of turmoil, Sussan Ley and David Littleproud have struck a final deal to paper over the cracks in their political union.
‘Now Ley can call her colleagues and start offering them frontbench positions so that the opposition’s shadow ministry can be announced sooner rather than later.’
It is understood a press conference will be held later today to announce the reunification and possibly the locked in front bench shadow portfolios.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie was forced to defend Littleproud on breakfast TV this morning after one of her parliamentary colleagues suggested he had been less than truthful with the party room during the messy process.
‘Littleproud has secured an enlarged frontbench team for the junior coalition partner, given its better performance at the election compared with the gutted Liberals,’ Van Onselen said.
‘He’s also won agreement for in principle policy positions the Nats party room want the Coalition to stick with, including ending the moratorium on nuclear power and continuing to pursue the potential break up of the big supermarkets.
‘Whatever you think of the policies, the Nationals want them to remain Coalition policy, and the minor party has certainly flexed its muscle within the opposition team.
‘Equally, Ley showed a cool head working to avoid a formal break up.’
It’s also understood the split had followed Littleproud demanding the Nationals be allowed to speak out against Coalition policies it disagreed with, which Ley insisted they should not do.
The Coalition suffered its biggest election loss in more than half a century on May 3.
The Liberals lost more than a dozen electorates, including former leader Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson.
The National Party retained its 15 seats.
While the Coalition’s proposal to build seven nuclear power plants that it took to the election has been scrapped, under the new terms it will still push to lift a ban on the industry that has been in place since the Howard government in the 1990s.
Labor, on the other hand, is relying on green electricity from wind, solar, hydro and geothermal sources to reach the net zero emissions target by 2050.
Supermarket divestiture powers that could be used to break up the duopoly of giants Coles and Woolworths will also be kept as part of the Coalition’s policies.
The laws could be used to force the businesses to sell off assets and introduce more competition in the industry to manage claims of price-gouging, land banking, underpaying farmers and suppliers, and anti-competitive discounting.
The Nationals have also managed to secure the Coalition’s commitment to the $20billion Regional Future Fund that will pump a portion of ‘s commodity revenue into improving rural communities.
Finally, the Nationals push for better mobile coverage in rural areas will also be kept as Coalition policy.
Heading into the election, the Coalition said it would develop a framework to ensure minimum service speeds, repair timeframes and expanded coverage in remote areas.