1m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 3:11amLey and Littleproud expected to meet

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Nationals Leader David Littleproud are expected to meet this evening to discuss the future of the Coalition.

The Nationals split from the Liberals last month following a disagreement over hate speech laws.

In an attempt to reunite, Ley suggested the leaders meet ahead of parliament resuming.

Littleproud said that wasn’t possible before the Nationals leadership spill motion, which is happening now.

But in a clear sign that Littleproud is confident he will keep his job, it’s understood there is a meeting this evening.

Both Littleproud and Deputy Nationals Leader Kevin Hogan have stated that the Coalition can only reunite if the three Nationals’ senators who crossed the floor over the hate speech laws are reappointed to shadow cabinet.

The majority of Liberals are opposed to this idea.

6m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 3:06am

The doors have closed

And now we wait! Got any questions for us in the meantime? Chuck them in the comments by using the big yellow button at the top of the blog.

11m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 3:00am

More MPs (and a gatecrasher) arrives

Okay, someone has seriously organised the Nats’ entrances into the party room. It’s a LONGGGG hallway shot and they are suspiciously well timed for the cameras.

Darren Chester and Kevin Hogan were the next to make their entrances.

Bridget McKenzie, who was one of the three senators who quit the shadow frontbench after the Nationals voted against the government’s hate speech laws, was next to enter. She gave us a little smile at the end.

And finally, we have a gatecrasher!!! Labor’s Julian Hill made his way down the hallway, where he told cameras the party had “little to the proud of”.

It’s a public hallway, so it was only a matter of time until someone did this.

Matt Canavan was next up. He entered alone, armed with a bunch of binders.

15m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 2:57amColin Boyce, Nationals challenger, enters alone

Colin Boyce has just made the long walk down the hallway towards the Nationals party room.

Chewing gum, he kept to himself as he walked in. He only stopped to smile at a Parliament House cleaner who briefly had a quick chat with him.

16m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 2:56amNationals MPs are filing into the party room

Michael McCormack strutted down the hallway as if it were a runway, with his suit jacket slung over his right shoulder, smiling to himself as he walked into the party room.

David Littleproud also looked pretty relaxed as he made his way in. No suit jacket for Littleproud, as per usual.

18m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 2:54am

So what are we expecting from the National party room?Colin Boyce flagged last week he’d be moving to spill the leadership over frustrations with David Littleproud. It’s not clear if Boyce has someone to second his motion, or if the motion even needs to be seconded at all. If the motion fails to get the numbers, the spill doesn’t take place. If it does, Littleproud will nominate himself, as will Boyce. Another motion is due to take place today too. Darren Chester will move a motion to demand the urgent reunification of the Coalition. 

27m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 2:45am

National MPs to meet shortly

We are getting into the pointy end of the afternoon. Nationals MPs are getting ready ahead of their party room meeting at 2pm.

It’s there Queensland MP Colin Boyce is expected to move a motion to spill the leadership.

So far, all signs are that David Littleproud has the numbers (Boyce himself is realistic about his chances of toppling Littleproud). 

We’ll bring you all the latest as details of the meeting roll in.

45m agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 2:27amLiberal senator would be okay if Coalition split lasted until next election(ABC News: Callum Flinn)

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg would be just fine if his party went to the next election solo amid renewed calls for the Coalition to reunite.

Bragg, who has been out and about today spruiking his policy to cut red tape for business, said the Coalition should not come “at any cost”.

“We have a massive challenge to win back the trust of urban voters … Most people live in urban seats. We hold next to no seats at the moment,” he told reporters at Parliament House.

“So until we can ratchet that upwards, we’ve got no chance of becoming the government.

“So the Liberal Party should be clear eyed about the challenge.

“And we’ve tried to make it work with the Nats. I think we have tried valiantly over the course of the last six to eight months. And sometimes things don’t work out.”

Bragg said he hoped things would work out in the future but the Liberals “aren’t desperate”.

“If we go to the next election as the Liberal Party, then so be it.”

1h agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 2:00am

Hawke flags Liberals will have to ‘look at’ One Nation preferencing(ABC News: Callum Flinn)

Following that interview with Sky News, Alex Hawke has stepped up for a doorstop in the press gallery at Parliament House.

Asked if not preferencing One Nation last at the election was a mistake, Hawke says it’s something the Liberal Party will have to look at.

The Coalition didn’t preference One Nation last in many contests at the last 2025 federal election, breaking with its nearly 30-year tradition of placing the right-wing party last.

The minor party achieved its best results in years last May, with three senators elected from WA and NSW and Queensland.

“We have to look at all those things but we have to listen first to what the public is telling us. And the One Nation party has always been a party of protest,” Hawke says.

” We have to listen to that first, but also then tackle One Nation on our ground in our terms

1h agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 1:47am

📸Anthony Albanese meets with Marshall Islands president Hilda Heine(ABC News: Callum Flinn)

1h agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 1:23am

The hundreds of millions in political donations made over 2024-2025

Political donations made to parties over the year to July 2025 have been published by the Australian Electoral Commission, showing the scale of money being pumped into our political system.

It’s worth noting these returns don’t count specific election spending made during the campaign, though regular donations over that period are still included.

Federal Labor received $71.86m while the federal Liberal Party received $53.23m, the LNP $52.33m and the Nationals $4.15m — with some overlap in donations between those.

There’s also a few interesting details about some of the big political organisations that influence Australia’s politics.

Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy donated $52.89 million over the period to his Trumpet of Patriots party, which failed to win a seat at the 2025 election.

The pro-environment “teal” aligned Climate 200 received $23.6 million in donations, much of which was paid out to independents including Monique Ryan, challengers in Calare, Cowper and Peter Dutton’s former seat of Dickson.

And conservative lobby group Advance Australia, who are considered close to Liberals Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, has once again counted mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting among its list of donors.

Fellow billionaire James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings is also on the list of donors to Advance for what appears to be the first time.

The federal government has since amended rules around disclosing political donations, but those rules do not begin until July 2026.

2h agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 12:39am

Alex Hawke warns Nationals against scoring ‘biggest own goal’ in centre-right history

A Liberal frontbencher has warned the Nationals they risk scoring “the biggest own goal” in the history of centre-right Australian politics if they maintain their split from the Coalition.

The country party split from the Liberals in January after three Nationals frontbenchers defied Coalition shadow cabinet solidarity and voted against Labor’s hate laws.

Speaking to Sky News, Manager of Opposition Business Alex Hawke has urged Nationals Leader David Littleproud to rejoin the Coalition.

“We are urging him not to break the Coalition because it will be the biggest own goal, it will be bigger or as big as the DLP split in the Labor Party,” Hawke says.

“David Littleproud needs to turn away from scoring the biggest own goal of all time in the centre-right of Australian politics,” he says.

Hawke says the Liberals and Nationals have more that unites them rather than divides them, and has urged Nationals who have advocated for a Coalition split to “pause and consider the impact”.

“I don’t believe a broken Coalition will help the Nationals compete with One Nation on the right. In fact, it will weaken their position substantially and you could say many of them lose their seats”

2h agoMon 2 Feb 2026 at 12:13amNationals MP to demand leaders urgently reform Coalition(ABC News: Callum Flinn)

Nationals MP Darren Chester will move a motion calling for leadership to urgently work towards reforming the Coalition.

“The things that unite us are bigger than the things that divide us,” he wrote in a post to his Facebook page.

He told supporters the motion did not mean he no longer supported David Littleproud’s leadership.

“I will support current leader David Littleproud in the leadership ballot and remain committed to working with whomever my friends and colleagues in the Liberal Party choose as their leader,” he said. 

“But every moment we spend talking about ourselves, is a free pass to a weak and divisive prime minister who has failed to keep his promises to lower energy bills and govern for all Australians.”

The Nationals are due to meet at 2pm this afternoon, where Queensland MP Colin Boyce will attempt to challenge Littleproud for the leadership.

3h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 11:48pm

Albanese likens ‘bizarre’ Liberal, National infighting to Married at First Sight(ABC News: Callum Flinn)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just stepped up to speak to Labor caucus for the first official sitting week of the year.

The prime minister is talking up the passage of new gun control and hate laws in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.

“The commitment of this group to not just talk about bringing parliament back and getting reform done but actually support it and vote for it was a major beginning for this year,” Albanese says.

He has also spruiked the federal government’s investments in healthcare, education, housing and childcare.

But Albanese has taken a swipe at the Liberals and Nationals for infighting, comparing it to the popular reality TV show Married at First Sight.

“You can’t fight for Australia if you’re obsessed by fighting each other. And that is what we are seeing on the other side, with the fragmentation of people competing for who can be more right-wing,” he says.

“The other side, we’ll allow them to engage in their bizarre behaviour. I note that Married at First Sight begins tonight, and it’s a bit like that with the relationships on the other side.”

4h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 11:04pm

Analysis: Economy should be the focus but Coalition incompetence is a gift to Labor

On Friday night, images splashed across websites of the prime minister at the Australian Open with his son told a bigger story about how dramatically the government’s fortunes had shifted following the almost comical implosion of the Coalition.

The government should be going into the first full sitting week of the year on the back foot. The Bondi attack was followed last week by the release of inflation figures, which point to a wicked and persistent economic problem. Based on these circumstances, the focus should be entirely on the government.

But politicians often defy logical behaviour. Instead of putting the focus on the government’s economic problems, the Nationals and the Liberals — the two parties that are supposed to make up the official opposition — have instead collectively and individually handed the prime minister a political gift better than a grand final win by his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Read the full analysis at the link below.

4h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 10:38pm

📸Liberals and Nats arrive at Parliament HouseLiberal MP Phil Thompson arrives with bags in hand. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)Llew O’Brien makes a dash for the entrance. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)Liberal frontbencher Alex Hawke was ready to get to work. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)National Darren Chester was ready for the day. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)

4h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 10:20pm

Nationals deputy Hogan says Littleproud will survive challenge

Nationals deputy Kevin Hogan is “100 per cent” certain David Littleproud will be re-elected leader later today.

Flynn MP Colin Boyce last week flagged he would move a motion to spill the leadership at a meeting this afternoon. He’ll also be putting his hat in the ring for the top job.

Boyce has been pretty realistic about his chances of success.

Hogan agreed that Littleproud still had “great support” within the partyroom.

“I can predict with 100 per cent confidence that David [Littleproud] will very solidly be re-elected our leader,” he told ABC News Breakfast.

Asked if he thought Boyce could defect to One Nation or the crossbench, Hogan said he had an assurance that won’t be happening.

5h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 10:02pmLiberal senator says ‘Days of Our Lives’ drama not helping(ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg says his party won’t be taken seriously by voters if it continues with the Days of Our Lives drama instead of being an effective opposition.

“Whether people love or hate the Liberal Party, they want us to do a good job at holding the government to account,” he told ABC’s News Breakfast. 

“I really do think that people will mark us down if we appear to be more like a Days of Our Lives episode than a policy offering machine.”

Bragg reaffirmed his support for Sussan Ley as he declined to say if Angus Taylor should remain a shadow minister amid speculation he would challenge for the leadership.

Asked whether the Liberals should remain split from the Nationals, Bragg said his party’s focus should be on improving its performance in urban seats.

5h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 9:38pmNationals MP McCormack wants Coalition reunited within 48 hours(ABC News: Ian Cutmore)

Nationals MP Michael McCormack wants the Liberals and Nationals to reunite within the next 48 hours.

The Coalition dramatically split 10 days ago after a dispute over a position on the government’s hate laws ended with three National frontbenchers voting against the bill despite the shadow cabinet’s agreed position to support them.

After Sussan Ley accepted the resignations of the three, the remaining Nationals walked, and leader David Littleproud declared the Coalition’s second split in as many years.

Last week, Ley issued an ultimatum to Littleproud, warning that if the Nationals didn’t return to the fold, their frontbench positions would be reallocated to the Liberals.

McCormack stressed those positions belonged to the Nationals and hoped “cool heads, diplomacy, discipline and common sense” would reunite the Coalition within 48 hours.

He also said the three should be allowed back on the frontbench because it was an “unconventional” situation.

“We can’t have this infighting between the two Coalition partners. People out in voterland need to know that we’ve got their back,” he told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast. 

But the chances of that occurring “remain to be seen”.

“If I could look into the crystal ball and tell you … I certainly would. But I just don’t know,” he said.

5h agoSun 1 Feb 2026 at 9:21pm

Should leadership contender Angus Taylor resign? Tehan says he’ll ‘do the right thing’

Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan has been asked whether Angus Taylor needs to resign from the shadow cabinet.

Taylor emerged as the preferred candidate of the Liberals’ right faction after Andrew Hastie bowed out of the race for the leadership last week.

The pair held a covert meeting (as covert as a meeting caught on camera by waiting media can be) ahead of a memorial for former Liberal Katie Allen. 

Speaking with ABC’s Radio National Breakfast, Tehan said Taylor continued to support Sussan Ley.

“Now I’m sure if circumstances change, then Angus will do the right thing. But at the moment, he has committed to serve Sussan Ley, and that’s what he’s continuing to do,” he said.

Tehan said there had been many who didn’t specifically rule out a challenge.

“You know what politics is like,” he said, adding that the focus should be on holding the government to account and reuniting the Coalition.

Listen back to the interview with Dan Tehan at the link below.