Sussan Ley Claims Backing by Liberals and Open to Nationals Reunion

Sussan Ley has left the door open to reconciling with the Nationals as the regional party demands she quit as opposition leader.

Nationals leader David Littleproud on Jan. 22 broke up the coalition for a second time since the 2025 federal election, accusing Ley of bringing the political alliance to an “untenable position.”

The opposition leader shunned media interviews on Jan. 22 out of respect for the victims for the Bondi terror attack, as Australia marked a national day of mourning.

On Jan. 23 morning, Ley said she would survive as leader.

“I’m backed by my Liberal Party and the decisions that I’ve made to date,” she told Seven’s Sunrise.

She also said “the door is not closed” to the coalition’s reunification, though insisted “my eye is not on the door.”

Ley did not deny media reporting when asked to confirm if Littleproud unleashed on her during a phone call on Jan. 22 morning.

The Nationals leader is reported to have demanded she immediately reinstate three senators from his party who resigned over hate crime laws.

Insiders from both parties believe this split will last much longer than the previous week-long rupture following Labor’s landslide election victory in May.

Conservative Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who moved from the Nationals party room to the Liberals after the election, has previously said she does not have confidence in Ley’s leadership.

“I made it very clear that obviously the leader had lost trust in me, lost faith in me, and I suppose I felt the same at the time,” she told Sky News on Jan. 22 night.

“I don’t feel like things have improved.”

Liberals are preparing for a challenge to Ley’s leadership, likely when parliament returns in February, although exact details on the timing have not been locked in.

Conservatives Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie are seen as Ley’s most likely successors.

But one Liberal source described Hastie as “One Nation-lite”, warning his brand of fiery conservative politics would do little to win over new voters.

Taylor also carries baggage from his time as shadow treasurer, with some Liberals claiming he did not do enough to develop economic policy in the lead-up to the election.

Rumours of a possible challenge to Mr Littleproud are also swirling.

Former Nationals frontbencher Susan McDonald insisted Littleproud’s position was safe at the moment, and said she hoped the coalition partners could rejoin forces quickly.

But she warned the reunion would not happen straight away.

“I’m very optimistic that the coalition will get back together at some point, because we know that united, we are stronger,” she told AAP.

“However, at the moment, circumstances are that I think that is unlikely in the near term.”

On Jan. 21 night, the entire Nationals front bench tendered their resignations.

Littleproud said he was preparing a new front bench made up of only Nationals members, in a sign the split might last for some time.