Nationals will not re-enter Coalition agreement

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Nationals will not re-enter a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party. Mr Littleproud said he was hopeful the two parties would be able to come to a new agreement before the next federal election in three years.

Transcript

00:00I had a respectful conversation with Susan Lee this morning and sat down, made it very

00:07clear that we remain committed to having the door open, respecting the position that Susan's

00:14been put in, that she is a leader that needs to rebuild the Liberal Party. They are going

00:20on a journey of rediscovery and this will provide them the opportunity to do that without

00:26the spectre of the National Party imposing their will, but setting clear boundaries and

00:30parameters about what is important to us, about what we achieved as a coalition in the

00:35last three years. Building on that, not having to look back and to fight for things but to

00:41actually focus on what is important. Changing the lives of people in regional Australia.

00:47Young kids in regional Australia, and the reason I got into politics was seeing them for generations

00:54leave regional Australia, go over the great dividing range and go to capital cities and

00:58never come back. I got into politics to bring them home, to keep them home. And I don't want

01:03to have to go back and fight to get what we need to make sure I give the opportunity to

01:09the people we represent. And I respect the principal position that Susan is in and she needs to

01:15go through a process and I want to give her that time. And we made it very clear to one

01:20another. That I believe she is the leader that can help the Liberal Party reinvent itself and

01:27get it to a juncture that the Australian people want to see, a healthy opposition. And I gave

01:31her that commitment that I'll work every day with her to try and rebuild that relationship

01:36to the point where we can re-enter a coalition before the next election. But at this juncture,

01:42we're making a principal position about not what we're prepared to give up on, but to build

01:47on what we've achieved and to move forward. So it's with great disappointment that I announce

01:53that we're not going to form part of that coalition. We'll be pragmatic and we'll work constructively

01:59with Susan and her team to make sure that we bring down the Albanese government after

02:05the next election.

Category

Transcript

Recommended