Australian news and politics live updates: National Party splits with Libs, ending Coalition

Sussan Ley offered the Nationals an alternative pathway after leader David Littleproud axed the Coalition agreement.

Speaking to media in Canberra, Ms Ley said that she offered to share the shadow ministry between parties, working separately on policies before bringing them together “at the right time”.

“I proposed that we stand up a joint shadow ministry consisting of Liberal Party shadow ministers and National Party shadow ministers,” she said.

“And that we go forward in a united way and that we then work separately on policies, as we should, in our separate party rooms and come together articulating what those policies are at the right time.

“And the nationals did not agree to that approach.”

Ms Ley will now only appoint Liberal MPs and Senators to her shadow ministry.

She said that she intended those positions to remain until the next election regardless of if the National party come crawling back.

Ms Ley acknowledged the work she had done with Nationals leader David Littleproud over recent days as an “appreciated the deep and positive engagement”.

While she described the Nationals’ decision as “disappointing”, Ms Ley reiterated that the door remains open.

“I have enormous respect for David and his team, it is disappointing that the National Party has decided today to leave the Coalition,” she said.

“I want to say is this … the Nationals’ door remains open and our door remains open and we look forward with optimism to rejoining at some point in the future.”

She said the Liberal Party must evolve to meet the demands of contemporary voters and “will modernise”.

“The Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia,” she said.

“We would work through policies as we always have, and we’ve done that very successfully in the past,” Ms Ley said.

“And I think there’s a pathway. Well, I know there’s a pathway to do that.

“So having those policy discussions, I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid of vigorous policy discussions from different corners of the country and different agendas.”

“On the idea that there was resistance to Cabinet solidarity, that would be untenable for any Liberal leader to agree to,” Ms Ley said.

“So given that was one of the Nationals demands, do you have a view that the breakdown of this Coalition was a foregone conclusion?

“If that was a red for them, that any Liberal leader could clearly not agree to?

“And just secondly, in terms of policy positions, that might be established within the Liberal Party room, if at a future date you are rejoining a Coalition, would they be reviewed again or would they be settled as they were in the Liberal Party room?”

“I don’t actually see the Coalition as a way of the two parties being shackled together,” Ms Ley said.

“I really believe that the Coalition is stronger together.

“I am a committed Coalitionist. When I came into that party room in 2001, the Coalition consisted of John Howard as prime minister and John Anderson as deputy prime minister.

“And I saw how well it worked when it worked together.”

Ms Ley added: “I am disappointed, I do want the Coalition to come together and obviously this means for the Liberal Party that the shadow ministerial positions will be filled by Liberals.

“And I have much talent in my party room. But that, if you like, is secondary to the fact that we won’t be forming a Coalition. But we want to and we remain open to it.”

“As the largest non-government political party, the Liberals will form the official opposition,” Ms Ley said.

“The Liberal Party is the official Opposition in the Parliament.

“A new shadow ministry will be drawn from the Liberals in the upcoming days, and obviously I will be saying more about that.”

Sussan Ley has acknowledged the massive job ahead for the Liberals and the Nationals.

“We both have a big job to do to take the fight up to Labor,” she said.

“Now, as Liberals, we do respect the decision that the Nationals have made and our door remains open.

“Now the Nationals sought specific commitments on certain policies, and they’ve talked about that this morning and our perspective is not about the individual policies themselves but the approach that we said we would take to our party room about policies.

“Nothing adopted and nothing abandoned. So at this point in time, I asked the Nationals to respect those party room processes.

“And similarly, I would respect their attachment to the policies that they announced as very important to them.

“But our approach, nothing adopted and nothing abandoned. So we offered to work constructively with the Nationals and we asked for that respect in return, in good faith, I proposed that we stand up a joint shadow ministry consisting of Liberal Party shadow ministers and National Party shadow ministers.

“And that we go forward in a united way and that we then work separately on policies, as we should, in our separate party rooms and come together articulating what those policies are at the right time.

“Over the course of the next term. And the Nationals did not agree to that approach.”

Liberal leader Sussan Ley is giving a press conference.

She has reflected on the Nationals walking away from the Coalition.

”We will take the time to get this right,” she said. “We’ll listen, we’ll step up, we’ll modernise and we will rebuild.

“And it is with that undertaking from my party room and with my conviction and determination to get it right with respect to policies that I had front and centre with my conversations with David.

“And while I have enormous respect for David and his team, it is disappointing that the National Party has decided today to leave the Coalition.”

A 0.25 per cent rate cut to ease the nerves, but the RBA is keeping its powder dry to ensure it can give the economy a boost if the world starts to unravel due to tariff uncertainty.

The softly, softly approach that has been a hallmark of Michele Bullock’s Governorship continues, with the bank determining that inflation is well within the band to take the foot off the brake but global uncertainty will prevent it from making any bold moves.

The bank was looking at two key factors in making its call.

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The Liberal Party say the decision of the Nationals to split the Coalition is “disappointing”.

In a joint statement, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and other senior Liberal figures said that its door “remains open to the Nationals should they wish to rejoin the Coalition before the next election”.

They said it had been explained to the Nationals that the Liberal Party’s review of election policies was “not an indication that any of them would be abandoned, nor that every single one would be adopted”.

“We asked the National Party to work constructively with us ... in good faith, the Liberals proposed appointing a Coalition shadow ministry now, with seperate policy development in each party room, and subsequent joint policy positions determined in the usual way,” they said.

“Unfortunately, the Nationasl determined this was not possible.”

The statement also claims that the Nationals could not explicitly agree to the Liberals’ insistence that shadow cabinet solidarity be maintained in a Coalition agreement.