Nationals leader David Littleproud has taken a swipe at a journalist during a tense press conference alongside Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, as the pair confirmed the Liberal–National Coalition has officially reunited.
Standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder in Canberra on Sunday, Ley and Littleproud announced the Coalition was back together after its dramatic split in January, the second breakdown since the 2025 election.
But the moment quickly turned fiery when Littleproud was pressed on whether the Nationals could guarantee they wouldn’t walk out again.
‘We took a principled position on what we believe in, and that might be a foreign concept to someone like you,’ he said.
‘But there are people in Parliament that really do believe in the values of what they’re sent here to do.’
The Coalition collapsed last month after Littleproud backed shadow cabinet members who refused to support the Albanese Government’s proposed hate speech legislation, introduced following the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Under Coalition rules, any shadow minister who votes against an agreed party position must resign, a rule that remains unchanged under the renewed agreement.
Ley confirmed the partnership was now firmly restored.
David Littleproud (left) and Sussan Ley (right) confirmed the Coalition would reunite on Sunday
‘The Coalition is back together and looking to the future, not the past,’ she said.
As part of the deal, all Nationals shadow ministers, including senators, will spend six cumulative weeks outside their portfolios before returning to their previous positions.
They are expected to formally resume their roles on 1 March 2026, ending the acting arrangements put in place on 30 January.
Ley said she and Littleproud had created ‘a clear framework’ to prevent another rupture, while both leaders described the Liberal–National partnership as ‘the most enduring and successful’ in Australian political history.
Littleproud insisted the new structure had ‘future‑proofed’ the Coalition’s decision‑making processes.
He again attacked the government over what he claimed was a chaotic legislative rush on hate speech laws.
‘I don’t think any of you could tell me that we have ever seen a bill as substantial as that to be given to the legislators to vote on, with a matter of four to five hours to make a determination as complex as freedom of speech,’ he said.
The pair also brushed off questions about their own relationship, amid reports of heated phone calls and claims Littleproud had pushed for Ley to resign during the internal meltdown.
Littleproud (pictured) took a swipe at a journalist when asked if the Nationals would leave again
Ley dismissed the tension, saying tough moments were part of politics.
‘People who come here are passionate about a range of different things, and that passion gets expressed,’ she said.
The Coalition will hold a joint party room meeting on Tuesday.
Speaking to the ABC on Sunday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said that it was not the end of the party’s political feud.
‘I [don’t] think these endless cycles of bust-ups and patch-ups are fooling anybody. No amount of fake smiles for the cameras today can cover up for the fact that the right of politics in Australia is now a three-ring circus,’ he said.
‘It’s a three-ring circus of petty, personal and internal rivalries, and I think anyone who thinks that this is the end of it is kidding themselves.’