For the second time since the general elections in Australia, the coalition between the Liberal and National parties has split.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC) reported that eight National frontbenchers quit their roles over a disagreement on hate laws. Nationals leader David Littleproud said nobody in his party was willing to serve in a shadow ministry led by Sussan Ley.
“Our Coalition has become untenable,” he said.
“This process wasn’t all Sussan Ley’s fault … but it has been mismanaged by Sussan Ley.”
Until now, the coalition had shaped the conservative side of politics for decades in Australia. However, the alliance unravelled this week after three Nationals frontbenchers voted against a bill to target hate groups and toughen other hate laws.
The Liberal Party and the Nationals both supported the bills, which were drawn up in response to the massacre at Bondi Beach in December. However, the Liberals sided with the ruling Labor party’s government on Tuesday to pass hate speech reforms introduced after the Bondi Beach attack.
Sussan Ley Under Pressure
The Nationals abstained from the vote in the lower house and voted against the measure in the Senate, despite a shadow cabinet agreement. They described the legislation as a “mess” that “overreached” and withdrew from the coalition two days after parliament passed the laws. They added that the legislation had been rushed and posed a threat to free speech.
In less than a year, the Nationals have split from the coalition for the second time in Australia. The first one was a brief split, largely over energy and climate policy. It was resolved within a week in May.
Sussan Ley is yet to comment on the split. Her leadership is under pressure, after being elected the Liberal Party’s first female leader post last year’s bruising election defeat.
Some political analysts and observers had predicted she would be ousted by the end of last year, and Thursday’s events have reignited those conversations, reported the BBC.
