Liberal leader Sussan Ley, Greens leader Larissa Waters and Nationals leader David Littleproud. Pictures: NCA NewsWire, Saeed Khan/AFP, Tertius Pickard and Martin Ollman.
The weeks following the federal election have been tumultuous to say the least, with Labor's landslide win triggering an onslaught of parliamentary changes, including new heads for the Liberals and Greens.
In a shock move, the Nationals announced on Tuesday that the party will dump its Coalition agreement with the Liberal Party. They will hold 15 seats in the new parliament independently, reducing the Liberals to just 28.
“It’s with great disappointment that I announce that we’re not going to form part of that Coalition,’’ Party leader David Littleproud said.
“The National Party will sit alone on a principle basis.”
The decision upends an 80-year-old partnership between the two parties, and has drawn widespread criticism, including from former prime minister John Howard.
“As a strong Coalitionist, I’m very concerned about today’s developments and I hope the two parties continue to talk to each other, and I hope the Coalition is reformed well before the next election,” Mr Howard told The Australian on Tuesday.
“The best interest of the two parties is served by being in coalition and they are strongest politically and policy wise when both parties have been together.”
The Labor Party is now three times the size of the opposition.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remained measured in his first public response to the news that the Coalition had formally split.
“I’ve had discussions with both Sussan Ley and David Littleproud on a one-on-one basis. We’ll continue to treat people across the Parliament, of course, with respect,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Wednesday.
“Our job is to remain focused … Political parties will not be successful if they’re focused on themselves. I lead a united party that is focused on the needs of the Australian people.”
Labor achieved their historic win off the back of a health-focused election campaign, pledging Medicare reform, more bulk-billing, cheaper medicines and major investments into women's health.
Aged Care Insite has taken a look at where the three leaders stand on key health, education, economic and environmental policies, including how they‘ve voted on key legislation during in their time in parliament.
Following the Liberal’s decimating losses in the federal election, including Peter Dutton losing his seat to Labor candidate Ali France, Sussan Ley was elected as the new leader of the on May 13.
Hailing from the rural NSW division of Farrer – which borders both Victoria and South Australia and includes townships such as Albury, Griffith and Deniliquin – Ms Ley has made history as the first woman to lead the Liberals, but she is by no means a stranger to the parliamentary floor.
Born in Nigeria, Ms Ley spent her childhood in the United Arab Emirates, before migrating to Australia at the age of 13 with her family. In 2001 she entered federal politics as a member of the NSW Liberal Party.
Ms Ley was named Health Minister in 2014 under the Abbott government, adding the Aged Care portfolio to her responsibilities in 2015. Her time on the frontbench was short, ending in scandal in 2017 when she was found to have used a taxpayer-funded trip to purchase a $795,000 apartment on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
As Minister for the Environment under Scott Morrison between 2019 and 2022, Ms Ley gave the green light to a number of new coal projects, including the approval of Adani’s massive coal mine in Central Queensland, and made claims that climate action was not in her portfolio.
This famously led to a 2021 Federal Court ruling that found Ms Ley had a duty of care to future generations and should avoid causing harm with her decisions as Environment Minister. She appealed the decision and it was overturned in 2022.
Following her appointment to the leadership, Ms Ley made a statement assuring the Australian public that her party will stand for fairer taxes, take education seriously, support families and build “a strong, sovereign Australia.”
“Our Party values are enduring and they are optimistic. We believe in the freedom of the individual, reward for hard work and strong families being at the centre of a successful society,” she said.
“The Australians that Robert Menzies called ‘the forgotten people’ and John Howard called his ‘battlers’ remain at the heart of our nation. They are the nurses, small business owners, tradies, teachers, farmers, parents and retirees who ask for little but contribute a lot.”
She continued saying that the fact that she is a women should not be dwelled upon, nor should it overshadow the urgency and unity with which the Party must now act.
“We accept that many Australian women felt neglected by the Liberal Party and that we must reconnect with them and rebuild trust. We will do so,” Ms Ley said.
“I also know that Australians want a real alternative. They deserve a real alternative. And we will give them a real alternative.”
What does Sussan Ley stand for?
We’ve looked through the records to see what bills Ms Ley has supported through her voting in the House of Representatives. She has consistently voted for the following:
In her time in the parliament, these are some of the bills she has consistently voted against:
See more of Sussan Ley's voting history here.
You may remember Canadian-born Greens leader Larissa Waters making headlines in 2017 when she breastfed her daughter in the Senate.
At the time, she said that “women belong in the places of power usually dominated by older men, and the more of us there are, the more we can change things for all women.”
Ms Waters has a background in environmental law, and was named Australian Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year by the Law Council of Australia in 2010. She entered federal politics in 2011 as the first Greens Senator for Queensland.
In July 2017 she was forced to resign from the Senate in the wake of the dual citizenship eligibility crisis. Although Ms Waters was born in Canada to Australian parents, she was brought up in Australia after the family returned when she was an infant. Ms Waters said she was not aware that this meant she held Canadian citizenship.
She renounced her citizenship a month later, and was reelected to the Senate in 2018.
Now, following Adam Bandt’s loss in the seat of Melbourne to Labor's Sarah Witty, Ms Waters has become the second woman to lead the party (Christine Milne held the top spot between 2012 and 2015).
The Senator is a fierce proponent for climate action, as well as advocating for gender equity, ending gender-based violence, and addressing corporate donations and influence in politics.
Upon her election as Leader of the Greens, Ms Waters said she will use her position to keep the Albanese government accountable.
“There’s now no excuse for the Labor Party not to take the climate crisis seriously, to take real action on the housing crisis, to genuinely tackle the cost of living. People deserve more than just tinkering. They deserve real reform that will help them in their daily lives, and nature cannot be put last like it has been for so long,” she said
What does Larissa Waters stand for?
We've looked through Ms Waters’ voting record in the Senate and here some of what she consistently votes in favour of:
In her time in the Senate these are some of the issues she has consistently voted against:
See more of Larissa Waters’ voting history here.
David Littleproud is the only one of the three party leaders who managed to keep his place at the head of the table, retaining his leadership on May 12.
Mr Littleproud holds the seat of Maranoa, which encompasses most of the south west of Queensland, bordering the NT, SA and NSW, and has been leader of the National Party since 2022.
Growing up in Chinchilla, in the heart of the Queensland Western Downs, and forging a career in agribusiness before entering politics, Mr Littleproud’s politics centre on small business and agriculture.
The Nationals are known as the party that represents regional Australia. Founded as the Australian Country Party in 1920, the Nationals have as a core principal that “the future of regional Australia is critical to the future of our nation,” and its party policies are inherently conservative.
Mr Littleproud has been under intense scrutiny since making the decision to end the Coalition agreement earlier this week but it’s not the first time he has had his decisions questioned.
In 2023 he, like Ms Ley, was caught up in a travel expenses scandal, in which he reportedly left parliament early to travel to the Gold Coast with his family on taxpayer-funded business class flights, just three days after settling on a $1.375m beachfront apartment in Surfers Paradise.
To quell any claims of unethical behaviour, Mr Littleproud paid back all expenses associated with the trip.
Mr Littleproud is loudly pro-nuclear, and believes that “the all-renewables approach won’t work.” One of the reasons given for the split from the Liberals was over the Nationals’ support for a domestic nuclear power industry. He has consistently voted against climate action policies, such as federal government action on animal and plant extinctions, increasing investment in renewable energy, Net zero emissions by 2035, the Paris Climate Agreement and the establishment of an Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
What does David Littleproud stand for?
Mr Littleproud voting record shows what he has consistently voted in favour of:
These are some the issues he has consistently voted against:
See more of David Littleproud's voting history here.
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