Local Liberal MP Jason Wood has firmly backed Sussan Ley’s leadership against what he labels the Nationals’ latest “hissy fit” that resulted in the Coalition breaking apart for the second time in less than a year, a rift Wood says he “can’t see being mended” before the next election.
Speaking to the Gazette, the La Trobe MP slammed the Nationals after they announced their split from the Coalition on Wednesday, after opposition leader Sussan Ley accepted the resignation of three frontbenchers from the country party for breaking cabinet solidarity to oppose the new hate speech laws passed this week in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
The over 20-year veteran of federal politics said the Nationals will “never dictate” who the Liberals have as leader after they said a Coalition was “untenable” with Ms Ley at the helm.
“What the Nationals have just done recently, there’s no rhyme or reason really why they’ve done it,” Mr Wood said.
“They will never dictate to us who the leader’s going to be.
“I think they thought we’ll do this and we’ll all come back together again. But I can’t see it happening.”
Three Nationals senators from the front bench, Senators Susan McDonald, Bridget McKenzie and Ross Cadell, crossed the floor to oppose the new hate speech laws on Tuesday evening, citing concerns about freedom of speech.
It is well established in the Coalition that breaking cabinet solidarity is followed by a withdrawal from the front bench. Ms Ley accepted the resignations of the senators, which prompted the complete withdrawal of the Nationals from the shadow cabinet and from the Coalition.
However, Mr Wood believes the motivation to oppose the laws by the Nationals was to cover their right flank from One Nation, who have surged in the polls this week.
He said if the matter was regarding bread-and-butter issues for the country party, he could understand a little more, but as a former police officer who worked in counter-terrorism, he doesn’t see legitimacy in breaking ranks.
“If it was something to the soul and the heart of the Nationals, which they’ve been talking about for years, I would understand it. This one just wasn’t something I could understand.
“The good thing is it’s already worked because the neo-Nazis and extremist Islamic groups have already shut down.
“They can’t go out there and go recruiting. To me that’s really important.”
He defended the decision to compromise and attacked the Albanese Government for allowing hate speech to defend itself if it is behind religious scripture.
Mr Wood says the Nationals risk being “wiped out” in the senate at the next election, as they will not enjoy having the number two spot on the ballot if they maintain their rift.
When the Coalition split briefly after the 2025 election, Mr Wood supported unity, but now he finds it hard to imagine uniting once again.
“It’s sad really.
“I can’t see it being mended. My position has now been firmed up that you can’t just keep doing this. It’s just a waste.
“I feel sorry for the public watching and thinking, what the hell is going on.”
Ms Ley will remain in the leadership, Mr Wood believes, saying that she did “what was to be expected” by accepting the resignations.
This week, results from Newspoll showed One Nation ahead in the primary vote across the country against the Liberal Party for the first time, 22 percent to 21 percent.
Mr Wood said the Liberals simply “moved on” where the Nationals didn’t.
“They’ve [One Nation] been talking about targeting hate and Islamist extremists, and yet they voted to stop the legislation designed to target them.
“They’re very strong on maybe one or two policy areas, but they’re never going to rule government because there’s no depth there.”
