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Coalition splits amid hate speech legislation fallout
Australia's Liberal-National Coalition, the country's primary opposition bloc, has fractured following a bitter disagreement over proposed hate speech reforms. The rupture, announced on Thursday-coinciding with a national day of mourning for victims of last month's Bondi Beach terror attack-has thrown Liberal leader Sussan Ley's future into question.
Background: A coalition under strain
The centre-right alliance, which has faced internal turmoil since its heavy election defeat in 2025, had been divided over how to respond to government-led reforms triggered by the 14 December attack at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach, which left 15 dead. While the Liberals aligned with the Labor government to pass the legislation, the Nationals defied shadow cabinet consensus by abstaining in the lower house and opposing the bill in the Senate.
Nationals break ranks, triggering mass resignations
Nationals leader David Littleproud declared the Coalition "untenable" on Thursday, confirming the party's withdrawal. "Our party room has made it clear that we cannot be part of a shadow ministry under Sussan Ley," he told reporters, though he left the door open for future reconciliation, calling the split "probably a good thing" for both parties to "spend some time apart."
The dispute escalated after Ley accepted the resignations of three Nationals frontbenchers on Wednesday, prompting the remainder of the party's shadow cabinet to step down en masse. Littleproud accused Ley of mismanagement but acknowledged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had placed her in a difficult position.
Legislation at the heart of the rift
The contested laws, introduced in response to the Bondi Beach attack, include bans on groups deemed to incite hatred and stricter penalties for religious figures advocating violence. Nationals senators argued the reforms were rushed and posed risks to free speech, despite prior shadow cabinet agreement. The Liberals, however, supported the measures alongside Labor.
"This process wasn't all Sussan Ley's fault. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put her in this process. But it has been mismanaged by Sussan Ley."
David Littleproud, Nationals leader
Leadership crisis deepens for Ley
Ley, who became the Liberal Party's first female leader after last year's election loss, has faced persistent doubts about her leadership. Analysts had predicted her ouster by the end of 2025, and Thursday's events have reignited those discussions. In a statement marking the national day of mourning, she emphasized her "responsibility to Australians in mourning" but has yet to directly address the split.
The Coalition, which has operated in its current form since the 1940s, last briefly dissolved in May 2025 over climate and energy policy disputes-a rift resolved within a week. The Nationals, representing rural and regional communities, often adopt more conservative stances than their Liberal counterparts.
Reactions: From criticism to cautious support
Former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, no stranger to tensions with the Nationals, told the ABC that both leaders had "mismanaged" the dispute, leaving the Coalition in a state of "smouldering wreckage." In contrast, another former Liberal leader and long-serving prime minister, John Howard, defended Ley's actions in an interview with The Australian, stating she had "no choice" after the Nationals' revolt and had "behaved absolutely correctly."
Senior Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie, one of the lawmakers who defied party lines, acknowledged the timing of the split was "appalling" but dismissed criticism of leadership games as "unfair" during a local radio interview.
