Coalition reunites: Sussan Ley strikes a deal to carry the Liberals and Nationals again collectively

The Coalition is on the brink of reuniting after a breakthrough between the Liberal and National parties ended days of tense negotiations.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has reportedly accepted a counter-offer from the Nationals, agreeing to suspend all Nationals shadow ministers for six weeks, a move aimed at healing the rift within the Coalition.

Sky News Australia reports the Nationals put forward the suspension proposal as a key condition for rejoining their Liberal partners, finally bringing an end to a standoff that nearly led to a formal split.

Nationals leader David Littleproud triggered the crisis by supporting shadow cabinet members who refused to back the Albanese Government’s proposed hate speech laws, introduced in response to the Bondi Beach terror attack.

During the suspension period, both Littleproud and deputy Kevin Hogan will remain in the shadow cabinet, signalling a marked shift in the Coalition’s internal dynamic.

The new deal marks a retreat from Ley’s earlier hard-line stance, which demanded that three Nationals senators be sidelined until July for defying shadow cabinet solidarity.

Ley had pushed for a six-month suspension for Nationals senators Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald and Ross Cadell, accusing them of undermining frontbench unity by voting against the hate speech laws, despite the shadow cabinet’s agreement to support the legislation.

Under Coalition rules, any shadow cabinet member who votes against an agreed position must resign, a rule that will stay in place under the new arrangement.

The Coalition is set to reunite after a breakthrough in negotiations between the parties 

David Littleproud (centre) and his deputy Kevin Hogan (right) will return to shadow cabinet

Ley has insisted the Coalition reaffirms its commitment to shadow cabinet solidarity, and that neither the Liberal nor Nationals party rooms be allowed to overturn decisions signed off by the shadow cabinet.

Ley had previously called for the three Nationals senators who crossed the floor to be suspended for a longer period.

Instead, that demand was rejected, and the compromise will see all Nationals, except Littleproud and Hogan, suspended from shadow cabinet for six weeks. 

The Coalition’s reunification is understood to have soothed anxieties among several frustrated Nationals, including LNP MP Colin Boyce, who failed in his leadership spill bid against Littleproud on Monday, citing his fury over the collapse of the agreement.

Boyce, a staunch conservative, had insisted the Nationals could not fend off One Nation’s rise without help from the Liberals. 

The deal is set to be signed sometime between Sunday and Monday, before Parliament returns next week.