Right-wing pro-life and anti-tax groups flood Nationals MPs with emails in support of Matt Canavan

Pro-life and anti-tax groups are flooding the inboxes of Nationals MPs with emails backing Matt Canavan ahead of a party room vote on the leadership. The Queensland senator announced on Friday that he would challenge David Littleproud for the top job, saying the party needed to rebuild after the “catastrophic” election loss. Former MP George Christensen and Brian Marlow, who heads the activist group Australian Taxpayers Alliance, are spearheading a push for pro-life supporters to flood the Nationals with emails backing Senator Canavan. “He has shown unwavering commitment to pro-life, pro-family and pro-Australian values — the kind of leadership we are looking for,” say the form emails, seen by The West. A “Back Matt” website authorised by Mr Marlow describes the senator as “an unapologetic pro-life, pro-family MP who is not afraid to speak his mind”. It is illustrated with clips of news articles showing Senator Canavan speaking at an anti-abortion rally with Mr Littleproud saying he supports “women’s right to choose”. By Sunday evening, more than 3000 people had interacted with the website urging them to email Nationals MPs. Senator Canavan describes himself as pro-life and last year backed a “children born alive” bill alongside Liberal Alex Antic and United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet. However, he warned colleagues in the wake of the Queensland State election in October that it would not be helpful to discuss abortion in the lead up to the Federal poll. Mr Marlow told The West he wanted to see Senator Canavan as the Nationals leader primarily because he opposed Australia’s net-zero emissions target. “David Littleproud has in the past signalled his support for the net zero policies, and I just think the National Party is a party that shouldn’t have supported at all. So it really just comes down to that,” he said. He later clarified he launched the campaign because “Senator Canavan represents the values everyday Australians care about: scrapping net zero, lowering energy costs, supporting families through tax relief, and standing up for the unborn”. Neither the “Back Matt” website nor the emails it generates mention climate or taxation policy. Mr Christensen, who split from the Liberal National Party and ran for One Nation in 2022 before seeking to establish himself as a right-wing commentator, penned a lengthy endorsement of Senator Canavan for his Nation First newsletter. He labels Mr Littleproud “a former bank Johnny, who still radiates the low-energy, paper-shuffling aura of that particular profession” and accuses him of having run a failed election campaign. Christian advocacy group Family Voice Australia has also endorsed Senator Canavan on its social media page. Despite the online support for his opponent, Mr Littleproud is expected to withstand the challenge when the 18-member party room meets in Canberra on Monday afternoon. Former leader Michael McCormack said Mr Littleproud had done a good job. He noted the Nationals had retained all its lower house seats, unlike the Liberals. “Obviously, we need to do some soul searching,” he told The West, adding that he was sure the party would rebuild over the next three years. “We didn’t do everything right, neither of the Coalition parties did that. I don’t believe we should split from the Liberal Party, I believe we’re stronger together.” The Nationals have never had a leader from the Senate before. Another Nationals source said they anticipated Senator Canavan would struggle to find much support from lower house members. Last week’s defection of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the Liberals and the expected loss of deputy leader Perin Davey’s seat in NSW will leave it with only four senators, which risks it losing party status and accompanying extra staffing and whip positions.