By Zac de Silva and Grace Crivellaro in Canberra
A moderate Liberal has praised his leader’s handling of the “worst job in Australia” as the coalition parties stall on appointing new shadow ministries after their dramatic rupture.
Conservative challengers are angling for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s job after the coalition’s divorce and supporters of backbencher Andrew Hastie claim they have the numbers to challenge for the role.
Praising Ms Ley’s leadership, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg batted away questions on whether a spill would happen in the coming days.
“I don’t know (if there will be a challenge) … but I don’t think we wouldn’t have had a royal commission announced if it weren’t for Sussan Ley,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday, a reference to the Bondi massacre inquiry announced by Labor after weeks of opposition pressure.
“Being opposition leader is probably the worst job in Australia,” Senator Bragg added.
The opposition housing spokesman said he had not received any serious requests from colleagues canvassing numbers for leadership, but he admitted it was hard to hold the government to account while his party was dealing with its own problems
“We have an opportunity to refresh and I expect that we’ll do a better job of that in 2026,” he said.
The Nationals’ departure from the coalition means Ms Ley needs to reassign the portfolios held by the regional party, including key areas such as trade, agriculture, resources and emergency management.
Multiple Liberal sources told AAP on Tuesday that Ms Ley was yet to offer any of the Nationals’ former jobs to her team, but insiders were divided over the reason.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said there was still work to do in assigning portfolios for his own shadow ministry, adding that the coalition split was “not what we wanted”.
“We didn’t leave in anger, we left in disappointment,” he told Sky News.
Two Liberal politicians said their leader was holding out hope the Nationals would return to the fold.
Members of both parties believe naming separate front benches would cement the already acrimonious split.
“I still think (Ms Ley) hopes the Nats will come back,” one senior Liberal said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
But another source believed Ms Ley, who could face a leadership challenge as soon as next week, was hoping to bolster her support base by essentially trading portfolios for votes.
The Nationals will also need to assign portfolios as they strike out on their own in parliament, but two sources inside the regional party said there had been no conversations about a carve-up of shadow ministries.
As contenders canvas for votes, MPs have been largely holding their fire as a memorial service for late Victorian Liberal MP Katie Allen is being held on Thursday.
Mr Hastie’s camp indicated the leadership contest would likely heat up on Thursday afternoon, once the service had wrapped up.
While his supporters insist they have the numbers for a challenge, this claim is disputed by moderates who believe Ms Ley’s leadership is safe for now.
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