Ley gives Littleproud one-week ultimatum to reform Coalition

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will set a hard deadline for Nationals leader David Littleproud to reform the Coalition before she goes it alone with a Liberal-only opposition.

Littleproud rejected Ley’s offer to meet before next week’s parliamentary sitting to discuss an unlikely reconciliation after last week’s messy split over shadow cabinet discipline. He said he would be open to meeting after he faces a leadership spill on Monday.

Ley and her most senior MPs agreed on Friday to fill the vacancies in her shadow ministry, caused by mass Nationals resignations, in the meantime by giving existing Liberal shadow ministers additional responsibilities.

Shortly before midday, Ley’s office released a list of “short-term” ministerial responsibilities.

Ley said the acting roles would cease on February 9, when she will appoint six MPs to the shadow cabinet and two more to the shadow ministry.

Shadow treasurer and deputy Ted O’Brien MP will look after the assistant treasurer and financial services portfolios, foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash picks up trade, investment and tourism, health spokeswoman Anne Ruston will look after agriculture and forestry, energy spokesman Dan Tehan takes on resources, infrastructure spokesman James McGrath takes on transport and regional development, defence spokesman Angus Taylor picks up veterans’ affairs while environment spokeswoman Angie Bell picks up water and emergency management.

“There is enormous talent in the parliamentary Liberal Party and my party room is more than
capable of permanently fulfilling each and every one of those roles,” Ley said in a statement.

Ley added that the “Nationals’ decision to leave the Coalition was both regrettable and unnecessary” but that the “door remains open” to a Coalition agreement.

According to party sources familiar with her plans, Ley will tell Littleproud that if he does not come back to the table by the end of next week, she will enact a broader reshuffle and promote Liberals into the spots vacated by Nationals.

Doing so would effectively make permanent the Coalition split by allocating the staff and salaries previously held by Nationals frontbenchers to Liberals.

There was some disagreement on how long the party should give Littleproud to negotiate, but Ley’s leadership group backed the plan in a virtual hookup on Friday, including leadership aspirant Angus Taylor.

Senior Liberal MPs, including deputy leader Ted O’Brien and Dan Tehan, have for the past week been working behind the scenes to bring the Coalition back together.

But there is a growing view in the Liberal Party that Littleproud and much of his party room is not for turning. And also, many Liberals are so infuriated with Littleproud that they would not like to rejoin if he remained at the helm.

Ley’s office was contacted for comment.

More to come.

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