Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh says party disharmony expected after the Coalition left in a ‘dismal state’

Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh has acknowledged the “dismal state” of the Coalition, but has defended Sussan Ley’s leadership following the exit of high-profile WA MP Andrew Hastie from the front bench. Mr Hastie announced he would resign from the front bench after the Opposition Leader confirmed in a series of charter letters that he would not oversee immigration as the former Coalition spokesman for Home Affairs, with those matters set to be overseen by immigration spokesman Paul Scarr. Ms McIntosh, the Coalition’s communications spokeswoman, continued to back in Ms Ley and her “collaborative” leadership, and watered down the public party infighting and disharmony during what she said was a “really tough” time for the party. Mr Hastie’s exit comes after repeated threats to quit the front bench over the opposition’s net zero stance, as well as the axing of fellow conservative Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as defence industry spokeswoman after she failed to support Ms Ley’s leadership and refused to apologise for comments that offended Australia’s migrant Indian community. “(Ms Ley has) come in at a very tough time. We’re really scraping the bottom, aren’t we?” she told Sky on Sunday. “Australians are very disappointed in us. So you can’t expect that when we’re in such a dismal state from parliamentary terms, that things are always going to be bright and fuzzy, and we’re all having a beautiful time. “We’re developing policy again, in some respects, from the very beginning, people rejected us at the last election. Susan has a tough job, and her team are all behind her.” Asked directly about Mr Hastie’s actions, Ms McIntosh defended her colleague as a “passionate” politician who was “stepping aside out of respect for the leader”. “I think Andrew made it clear that he was doing what he was doing so he could have the leader could be free to do what she needs to do. So I think he made it clear that he wasn’t doing it to cause any issues with the leader,” she added. Addressing media after confirming his resignation on Friday evening, Mr Hastie, who has been touted as a future Liberal leader, confirmed he would not challenge Ms Ley for the top job. He said his move to the backbench was prompted by his desire to lead policy discussions on immigration. However he refused to comment on explicit policy disagreements. “Immigration is a core responsibility of Home Affairs, and so when it was made clear that I wouldn’t have any leadership in that role, I thought it was time for me to depart, because essentially, I want to be able to speak about immigration, which I think is a critical issue for a lot of Australians.”