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.
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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.