The Latest Breaking News from Jane Hume

Here is a statistic that tells you what a self-defeating funk the federal opposition is in. On Monday alone, as it wallowed in the crisis over energy policy, its parliamentarians indulged in more than 35 media appearances.

Twice in recent times the Liberals have faced an existential crisis over climate and energy policy: in 2009 over Kevin Rudd’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and in 2018 over the National Energy Guarantee, a plan to reduce emissions while maintaining reliability at lowest cost.

It says everything about the Liberals that the fracas over Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s comments about Indian immigrants became a proxy for the longer-term, debilitating battle over the party’s leadership and identity.

In their different ways, Liberal frontbenchers Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Alex Hawke are two bare-knuckle fighters.

A senior Liberal MP has called for a Senate colleague to apologise for controversial comments on Indian migration, which has prompted internal division.

As any leader of a political party knows, when you demote people they can become difficult, or worse.

The highest profile casualty of a new federal shadow cabinet is disappointed she was dumped from the leadership team but has vowed to fight on for the party.

Two Victorian Liberal women, Jane Hume and Sarah Henderson, have been dumped and a key numbers man has been promoted from the backbench to the shadow cabinet in the new frontbench announced by Coalition leaders Sussan Ley and David Littleproud.

Several moderate Liberals and key Ley supporters have been catapulted into the shadow ministry