Western Australian MP Andrew Hastie has ruled out challenging current Liberal leader Sussan Ley for her job.
Speculation that Hastie would challenge embattled leader Sussan Ley has been growing for months since he quit his shadow ministry position and moved to the backbench.
On Friday the former SAS soldier said it was clear he did not have the support of his colleagues to take on the leadership role.
“Having consulted colleagues over the past week and respecting their honest feedback to me, it is clear that I do not have the support needed to become leader of the Liberal Party,” he said in a statement.
The declaration came after Hastie and other Liberal men met in Melbourne on Thursday ahead of the funeral of former MP Katie Allen. The discussion about the party’s direction also included Angus Taylor who is now expected to be the challenger to Ley’s continued leadership.
The continued speculation over a challenge to Ley’s leadership comes as she unveils a new temporary shadow ministry in the wake of the coalition falling apart. Ley has given the National party an ultimatum to rejoin the coalition or be locked out of forming an agreement in the future.
“The Nationals’ decision to leave the Coalition was both regrettable and unnecessary and that door remains open,” she said in a statement.
Nationals leader David Littleproud is facing his own leadership challenge with Queensland MP Colin Boyce announcing he will call for a spill of the leadership positions in The Nationals next week.
Speaking to The New Daily’s 7am podcast Boyce said splitting the coalition was a terrible decision that needs to be reversed immediately.
“This is a last ditch effort from me to save The National Party from it’s own self destruction.” Boyce told journalist Daniel James.
Boyce said without the partnership with the Liberals the party would lose senate seats, face a crowded field at the next election, and struggle to attract much needed campaign funding.
“We will lose our long term staff that we have, particularly those staff attacked to shadow ministerial portfolios, those people have been with us for a really long time and have enormous experience in the political arena, we’ll also lose those travel entitlements that are attached to ministerial portfolios.” Boyce said arguing that the party was creating a broad range of challenges for themselves.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shared his views on the unstable leadership situations of both party heads, labelling them a “joke’ and a “shambles”.
“They’re a shambles and they are focused on their hatred of each other, Albanese said earlier today. “We are focused on the Australian people, their needs and the national interest.
“You can’t fight for Australians if you are obsessed with fighting yourselves and that is what the former Coalition has become.”
The PM said it was unbelievable the Liberal members had been meeting up to plot leadership coups in the shadow of Katie Allen’s funeral.
“You had a funeral to farewell Katie Allen, who was not just respected in the Liberal Party but across the board, and a bunch of blokes sitting in a house somewhere in Melbourne plotting to knock off the first female leader of the Liberal Party,” he said.
“This is beyond belief frankly”. the Prime Minister said.
