Australia news LIVE: Sussan Ley defends leadership as Liberals and Nationals reel from Coalition split

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has defended her leadership after the Coalition’s implosion, declaring she will survive as Liberal leader while trying to avoid questions about recent political turmoil.

Ley was on Sunrise just after 7am in her first TV appearance since the Nationals blew up Australia’s dominant conservative bloc yesterday. She started by deflecting criticisms from Labor, arguing the government should focus on doing its job instead.

Host Natalie Barr, however, soon pressed Ley on her own position, asking: “Will you survive as leader?”

“Yes, I will,” Ley replied.

“But I want Australians to know that what we did this week that caused the subject matter of the headlines was to work hard, to address and have the reckoning this country needs to on eradicating antisemitism and removing radical Islamic extremism.”

You might expect to hear reference to the sinking of the Titanic in commentary about the Nationals deserting what, until a few hours ago, was known as the federal Coalition.

The analogy is too grand. Better to think in miniature: the chaos in one of the Titanic’s little lifeboats.

The Titanic was a mighty ship filled with thousands of passengers, from the most powerful to poor immigrants hunkered in steerage and putting their faith in a better life in the New World.

The Coalition was a collection of a few ambitious egos and a rump of the confused left over from the last election, with no obvious passage to a land of hope and glory.

The ruin now facing them invites comparison with the sort of panicked frenzy that meant the Titanic’s lifeboats were less than half-filled with those hoping to survive.

Read the full sketch from Tony Wright here.

Good morning.

It’s Friday, January 23.

I’m Lachlan Abbott, and I’ll be anchoring our national news blog today after the collapse of the Coalition yesterday.

Here’s a quick recap of the headlines this morning:

• The entire leadership of the Coalition could be junked after Nationals leader David Littleproud sparked one of the worst crises in conservative politics in Australian history by blowing up the Liberal-National agreement yesterday.

• Liberal MPs were privately withering in their criticism of Littleproud even as they acknowledged that Sussan Ley’s leadership was probably terminally damaged and were discussing options for her replacement.

• Anthony Albanese did not comment on the political turmoil engulfing the opposition on the national day of mourning for the Bondi attack victims yesterday, but Treasurer Jim Chalmers called the internal fighting shameful.

Stay tuned for updates.