The Coalition has been plunged into chaos after the Nationals quit Sussan Ley’s shadow cabinet en-masse following a split over Labor’s hate speech laws.
In a bombshell move that threatens the future of the Coalition, the National party leader, David Littleproud, and all of his frontbench colleagues agreed to resign their positions at crisis talks on Wednesday night.
But Ley told Littleproud and his ministers to reconsider on Wednesday night, insisting the eight additional resignations received after crisis talks were unnecessary.
She urged Littleproud “not to walk away from the Coalition”.
“The Liberal party supports the Coalition arrangements because they deliver the most effective political alliance for good government,” Ley said in a statement.
“I note that in David’s letter, he has not indicated that the Nationals are leaving the Coalition. No permanent changes will be made to the shadow ministry at this time, giving the National party time to reconsider these offers of resignation.”
The mass exodus came after Ley’s decision to accept the resignation of Nationals senators Ross Cadell, Bridget McKenzie and Susan McDonald after the trio crossed the floor to oppose hate speech laws drafted after the Bondi massacre.
The stance, which the Nationals adopted as a party room, put them at odds with the Liberals and the position agreed at shadow cabinet.
Ley accepted the initial resignations on Wednesday, after insisting cabinet solidarity was a non-negotiable principle underpinning the agreement between the Liberals and the Nationals.
Guardian Australian has confirmed Littleproud warned Ley in a letter on Wednesday morning that the other eight Nationals frontbenchers – including himself – would quit the shadow ministry if the resignations were accepted.
“The three shadow cabinet ministers that voted against the bill have offered to resign. As it was a party room decision [to oppose the bill], if these resignations are accepted, the entire National Party ministry will resign to take collective responsibility,” the letter, first reported in the Nine papers, read.
Convention requires frontbenchers to vote in line with shadow cabinet’s decision or resign from the frontbench.
Ley had said shadow cabinet solidarity was “not optional”, reminding the Nationals that when the Coalition reformed after a brief split in May last year, the foundational principle underpinning that agreement was a commitment to shadow cabinet solidarity.
Ley said she has asked Littleproud to nominate three other Nationals to join the frontbench.
Earlier, multiple senior Coalition sources confirmed to Guardian Australia that Nationals MPs had discussed a “one-in, all-in” approach in which all of their shadow ministers – including Littleproud – quit the frontbench if Ley sacked the three senators.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
The crisis risks badly destabilising Ley’s leadership, which has already been under pressure due to poor polls and internal criticism.
One Liberal MP said it was “disappointing” the Nationals planned a mass walkout, a day after Labor’s hate speech and gun control laws passed parliament.
“The Nats all resigning en masse turns a story about an own goal by Albanese into a Liberal party story … She should keep them and let’s move on,” they said.
Littleproud and other Nationals frontbenchers in the lower house abstained from the vote, which was also technically a breach of shadow cabinet’s position to work with Labor to pass the bill.
Coalition sources confirmed the Nationals did not object to the position agreed at shadow cabinet on Sunday night, with the country party’s position only hardening on Monday afternoon.
The Nationals held another party room meeting on Wednesday morning, amid anger at the trio and backbencher Matt Canavan, who also voted against the bill.
One Nationals source described the party room meeting as focused on “pastoral care”.
The Liberal leadership group, including Ley and her Senate leaders, Michaelia Cash and Anne Ruston, also held crisis talks on Wednesday morning.
Earlier on Wednesday, Cadell said he was willing to go to the backbench if requested by Ley, but stood by his decision to cross the floor.
“I understand if you do the crime, you have to do the time, and if it is so requested, I will be stepping down from shadow cabinet,” he said. “I am willing to take my medicine.”
In a statement, McDonald said she supported both the intent of the legislation and the Coalition’s firm stance against antisemitism, hate and extremism.
“Serving as the shadow minister for resources and Northern Australia, and the shadow cabinet under both Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley has been a privilege. I thank my leader David Littleproud for entrusting me to serve in this position.”
The legislation, which will allow the government to designate organisations as “hate groups”, gives the home affairs minister additional grounds to cancel or reject visas and introduces tougher penalties for religious and spiritual leaders who promote violence, passed the Senate 38 to 22 votes after 11pm.
The Liberal frontbencher Dave Sharma told Channel Nine the trio should have voted with their Coalition colleagues.
“I was disappointed to see that. And it didn’t reflect the understandings that had been reached,” he said.
“From my perspective it’s important that we helped the government pass these important laws to allow us to take tougher action against people inciting hatred.”
The Coalition briefly split after the May election, after the National party had tried to strong-arm Ley into signing on to a deal that would make nuclear policy, a regional future fund and powers to break up supermarkets part of the Coalition’s policy platform.
The two leaders returned to the negotiating table in 48 hours, and the Coalition reunited one week later.
