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| Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor to contest Liberal leadership as Matt Canavan launches Nationals leadership challenge | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Former Coalition minister Dan Tehan rules himself out of Liberal race as Jacinta Nampijinpa Price insists she wanted to defect from Nationals ‘in a respectful way’ | |
| The Liberal leadership race is firming as a contest between the deputy leader, Sussan Ley, and the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, after Dan Tehan ruled himself out. | The Liberal leadership race is firming as a contest between the deputy leader, Sussan Ley, and the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, after Dan Tehan ruled himself out. |
| Ley announced on Friday that she would run for the party’s leadership, to be decided at a vote on Tuesday. | Ley announced on Friday that she would run for the party’s leadership, to be decided at a vote on Tuesday. |
| Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, meanwhile, defended her decision to defect from the Nationals to the Liberal party room, saying she had consulted with colleagues before the move. | Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, meanwhile, defended her decision to defect from the Nationals to the Liberal party room, saying she had consulted with colleagues before the move. |
| Nationals have criticised the defection, with their party’s leader, David Littleproud, saying he was “disappointed”. Senator Matt Canavan said Price’s “decision to put her own ambition over the will of the voters is exactly why people are sick of politicians”, and confirmed on Friday afternoon that he will challenge David Littleproud for the leadership of the National party. | |
| Price told 2GB radio on Friday that she had forewarned colleagues, including Canavan. | Price told 2GB radio on Friday that she had forewarned colleagues, including Canavan. |
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| “I wanted to do it in a respectful way,” she said. “So I did speak to my colleagues. I even spoke to Sussan Ley as well. So there are many that I had spoken to in the lead-up to this being announced.” | “I wanted to do it in a respectful way,” she said. “So I did speak to my colleagues. I even spoke to Sussan Ley as well. So there are many that I had spoken to in the lead-up to this being announced.” |
| Canavan told The Australian newspaper the Coalition should scrap Australia’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, saying the plan should be “on how we can save the country, not save the party”. | |
| “I am standing for my party’s leadership so that I can tell my kids I did everything I could to fight for a better life for them,” the Queensland senator said. | |
| As a Country Liberal party senator from the Northern Territory, Price is allowed to sit with either the Liberals or the Nationals. | As a Country Liberal party senator from the Northern Territory, Price is allowed to sit with either the Liberals or the Nationals. |
| She suggested she had always wanted to sit in the Liberal party room but had been “expected” to sit with the Nationals. | |
| “To be quite honest, it is something that I wanted to do from the first time I was elected,” she told 2GB. | “To be quite honest, it is something that I wanted to do from the first time I was elected,” she told 2GB. |
| “[But I] chose at that time that I needed to sit in the National party room, which was the expectation … and serve the people of the Northern Territory from there.” | “[But I] chose at that time that I needed to sit in the National party room, which was the expectation … and serve the people of the Northern Territory from there.” |
| It has been speculated that Price could join Taylor’s ticket for the Liberal leadership as his deputy, although the CLP senator remained coy on Friday. “This is a huge step that I have undertaken at this point,” she said. | It has been speculated that Price could join Taylor’s ticket for the Liberal leadership as his deputy, although the CLP senator remained coy on Friday. “This is a huge step that I have undertaken at this point,” she said. |
| Price has faced some blame for the Liberal party’s catastrophic loss on Saturday after she told reporters during the campaign the Coalition would “make Australia great again”. | Price has faced some blame for the Liberal party’s catastrophic loss on Saturday after she told reporters during the campaign the Coalition would “make Australia great again”. |
| Images emerged of the senator wearing a Maga hat at a Christmas party, which she brushed off as a “joke”. | Images emerged of the senator wearing a Maga hat at a Christmas party, which she brushed off as a “joke”. |
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| On Thursday, moderate Liberals ridiculed her decision to defect. They said a leadership ticket with Taylor and Price risked “taking us further from the centre”. | |
| Price has previously been criticised by some Indigenous leaders for her role in helping to defeat the voice to parliament referendum. | Price has previously been criticised by some Indigenous leaders for her role in helping to defeat the voice to parliament referendum. |
| On her defection, the senior Aboriginal leader Marcus Stewart said: “If Jacinta Price is the answer, then clearly the Liberals don’t understand the question.” | On her defection, the senior Aboriginal leader Marcus Stewart said: “If Jacinta Price is the answer, then clearly the Liberals don’t understand the question.” |
| The Liberal leadership battle was solidifying on Friday with Ley and Taylor formally in the race. | The Liberal leadership battle was solidifying on Friday with Ley and Taylor formally in the race. |
| Taylor told the Australian Financial Review on Thursday he would run for the leadership and heralded Price’s move as an “extraordinary addition” to the party. | Taylor told the Australian Financial Review on Thursday he would run for the leadership and heralded Price’s move as an “extraordinary addition” to the party. |
| On Friday, Ley told Sunrise the Liberals had let Australian women down. | On Friday, Ley told Sunrise the Liberals had let Australian women down. |
| “I’m determined and convinced that I am the right person to lead the party forward at this time, and I think my appointment would send a strong signal to the women of Australia, but it’s about much more than that,” Ley said. | “I’m determined and convinced that I am the right person to lead the party forward at this time, and I think my appointment would send a strong signal to the women of Australia, but it’s about much more than that,” Ley said. |
| “It is about the policy offering. It is about what modern Australia expects of us as Liberals.” | “It is about the policy offering. It is about what modern Australia expects of us as Liberals.” |
| Tehan, who had been considered a likely contender, ruled himself out of the race on Friday. The former Coalition government minister and shadow immigration minister said the party needed to take an “honest look at the 2025 election, our history and the future”. | Tehan, who had been considered a likely contender, ruled himself out of the race on Friday. The former Coalition government minister and shadow immigration minister said the party needed to take an “honest look at the 2025 election, our history and the future”. |
| “I love the Liberal party, and I want to help reconnect us with the Australian people, but after careful consideration and conversations with my colleagues, I have decided not to stand for a leadership position,” he said. | “I love the Liberal party, and I want to help reconnect us with the Australian people, but after careful consideration and conversations with my colleagues, I have decided not to stand for a leadership position,” he said. |
| “I will work hard and serve in whatever capacity I am asked to rebuild our party.” | “I will work hard and serve in whatever capacity I am asked to rebuild our party.” |