Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud on Sky News
LAURA JAYES
Well, it's one and a bit years from the federal election. Liberal MP Bridget Archer has called for a drastic reconsideration of the formal Coalition with The Nationals to save the careers of some of her colleagues, she believes are the party's future. Joining me live is The Nationals leader, David Littleproud. Your reaction to her reasoning and call here?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Oh, look, the one thing I would agree with Bridget Archer on is that we're not the LNP. We are two different parties and we have on some occasions different values and principles on issues that we need to enunciate. If you do that in a respectful way, you can still have the diversity within a Coalition as we demonstrated with the Voice proposition that we rejected, far earlier than the Liberal party. And we'll in fact, vote against the legislation, in the Parliament. So we're able to have those mature conversations within the Coalition.
We're not going to resolve from the fact that on the times we have to have a different stance on different matters. But if you do that in a respectful way, under my leadership, by making sure that the tone of that, particularly on things like the Voice is done in a tone that respects that, the fact that if the Liberal party hadn't got to the same position as us, that was okay. And I made that very clear to Peter. We have a mature conversation and relationship around these matters that know that we can have divergent views and that's a healthy thing for our democracy. That's a good thing that says there's diversity in our party rooms, diversity in our democracy that brings better policy outcomes for Australians.
So long as you do it in a respectful way, I think that the values and principles of each party can be respected.
LAURA JAYES
Well, you literally are the LNP though in Queensland, that's where you're both the most dominant, really. Is that counterproductive do you think, because that flows on to the representation in other states?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Oh, I think it's important to appreciate that the LNP in Queensland is in fact a Queensland-based party and state-based politics and issues are different to federal based issues. And therefore you have different values and different principles at a federal level.
LAURA JAYES
Do you sit in the camp? I mean, you'd know the division here, David. There is one camp that thinks the LNP should stand, in Queensland, and there's another very vocal group that says, well, no, the party structure should be split. Where do you sit?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Oh, look, I think it's important that the membership has a say on the primacy of the party that I joined, The Nationals, 25 years ago, was one that the primacy of membership always determines, the direction of the party. Now 12, 13 years ago, we took a direction to merge with the Liberal party. The leadership of the party should always ensure that there's a mechanism, there's an environment for a discussion to be undertaken at the right time, with the right environment around it. But that's for the members to decide, not for political leaders to make that determination. I believe in the primacy of their membership, and our membership will always determine that.
LAURA JAYES
Fair enough. So back to Bridget Archer's central kind of concern here. What do you do in Opposition? Do you need to differentiate yourselves more in Opposition? Is that really what she's getting at?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Well, I mean obviously, Bridget has a counter view on the Voice and that's fine. That's a good thing. In fact, in the Labor Party, I suspect if you scratch the surface, there'd be members of the Labor Party caucus that would want to vote no and probably will personally vote no on this proposition, but aren't allowed to do it. The fact that we have freedom within our two parties is a good thing, where there's divergent views and being able to express that. But when we're able to come together and again, if the Liberal party had taken the view that Bridget has, the National Party would've respected that wholeheartedly.
That was the conversation, the mature conversation with Peter Dutton. We respect on some matters, there will be divergent views and if the Liberal party gets to that, that’s okay because that's really the culture of the National Party. It's not as though we don't cross the floor. Our mob are very independent about making sure that their views are represented in Parliament. And sometimes that's divergent from the rest of our own party room. We we're okay with that. We actually see that as a culture that's okay within a party. And when the Liberal, if the Liberal party got to a divergent view than us, on particularly some of these social issues, then we'd have no issue with that. And we'll make sure that the tone is respectful. And that's the leadership that I want to make sure we can bring is that we're focusing on the outcomes for Australian people, particularly when it comes to the economy and the cost of living crisis that's out there at the moment. And where we have divergent views, then that's okay, we'll respect it.
LAURA JAYES
Perhaps the underlying concern here, and I don't wish to verbal Bridget Archer, she can speak for herself, is that, you know, you lose all these Teal seats the last election, then the Aston by-election. The Liberal party needs to win some of those seats back. And perhaps there is a view that when it comes to winning those seats, like the Teals, that The Nationals are a bit of led in the saddlebag.
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Well that's up to the Liberal party to determine. But I think even on the Voice, I think even people in metropolitan Australia would appreciate that our tone and the respectful way that our National Party members have come to this and our lived experience has meant that they've sought to understand us and we haven't let emotion run away from us. So I don't think that we are an impediment to the Liberal party in metropolitan Australia. I think metropolitan Australians appreciate that we represent the 30 per cent of Australians that live outside of a capital city. And so therefore, my job as the leader of The Nationals is to make sure that the Liberal party can have clear air in the capital cities.
We're giving them that and I think they've got that. It's then up to them to determine internally the values and principles that they're going to take to that part of the electorate. I don't intend to engage in that. That's for the Liberal party. But my job is to make sure that when we have views, we do that respectfully. And I think my Nationals team has done that in an outstanding way over the last seven and a half months.
LAURA JAYES
Would Andrew Gee agree with that? Because he now sits as an independent, obviously, you know, when you talk about flexibility, that flexibility does have some constraint.
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Well, no, it doesn't. Andrew Gee was told it was okay for him to have a divergent reviewed to the party room. There were more deeper issues with the New South Wales Nationals that he carried over from his time in state politics, that he couldn't reconcile with the state party. But Andrew was made aware, fully aware, that it was okay for him to have a divergent view because he believed that's what his electorate was pushing forward to him. And he made it very clear to him when we got to that position in November. And I hadn't heard anything else or anything of the contrary until two days before Christmas when he said that he was quitting, which, wasn't just about the Voice, it was about more divergent views within the New South Wales Nationals.
I respect that. But The Nationals intend to come back and to reclaim Calare. I made that very clear to him. While I like him at a personal level, this is about making sure that the movement for regional Australia, which is The Nationals, will be back in Calare and will give them that voice in federal parliament after next election.
LAURA JAYES
Does that mean Andrew Gee, you believe, he can come back into the fold or you'll find someone else?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
No. We, The Nationals, the movement that is The Nationals are for regional Australia. We'll contest that seat with another candidate and we intend to win it and we'll bring it back to Canberra.
LAURA JAYES
David Littleproud, good to talk to you as always.
