Revolt: NSW Nationals boycott Coalition over koala policy
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has issued an extraordinary ultimatum to her Deputy John Barilaro — support the government or be sacked. The demand comes after the entire NSW National party effectively moved to the crossbench of parliament this morning over a controversial koala protection policy.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Download our app and stay up to date anywhere, anytime
- What you get as a subscriber to The Daily Telegraph
The NSW government is on the brink of collapse, with the Premier sharpening an axe to sack seven Nationals Ministers, including her deputy John Barilaro.
In a stunning ultimatum in response to the National Party’s meltdown over new koala protection rules, Gladys Berejiklian gave a deadline of 9am Friday for the renegade country MPs to fall into line or be fired from the frontbench.
Nationals MPs were locked in crisis talks on Thursday night, unclear how they would respond to the Premier’s threat to swear in a new ministry at Government House before the weekend.
The extraordinary breakdown comes after months of attempts behind closed doors to reach a compromise on koala policy.
Earlier, the Deputy Premier Mr Barilaro said National Party MPs would effectively sit on the crossbench but retain their ministries and their hefty pay packets while refusing to vote for government legislation until changes to the koala State Environmental Planning Policy were made.
Following an 8am meeting with Nationals MPs, Mr Barilaro declared “when a farmer or landholder isn’t able to put in a driveway, or another feed shed, then you know that this policy is wrong.”
MORE NEWS
Family lawyer dismissed killer dad John Edwards as ‘slightly annoying’
Drunken stock trader who held up banks in ‘70s apologises to victims
Pink Frosting ‘likely broke consumer law’: Fair Trading
He would only guarantee supply, which emboldened left-leaning enemies of Mr Barilaro’s in the Liberal Party to back the brutal ultimatum to effectively destroy his political career while retaining the ability to govern.
There are 35 Liberal MPs in the lower house, and only one National MP had stuck loyal, leaving the government well short of a majority of 47.
There are 36 Labor MPs, three Greens, three independents and three Shooters and Fishers members.
There was a push at the Nationals’ crisis meeting last night to find a compromise, but the problem facing the party had no clear resolution at its conclusion, with Liberal backers of Ms Berejiklian labelling their country coalition partners “terrorists.”
The entire government was in limbo, with the Nationals resolving they would not back down on the koala policy and would reach a formal position by this morning.
The showdown was the latest in a string of threats made by Mr Barilaro to blow up the Coalition over bush issues, but never before had he taken the dispute this far.
Ministers were privately praising the premier, calling her an “iron maiden”, “strong” and cheering her for “not negotiating with terrorists”.
It can be revealed the koala rules as they related to private native forestry had been put on the cabinet agenda on August 27, but pulled before the meeting, with the delay further inflaming tensions.
Former National Party leader and deputy Prime Minister John Anderson stepped into the fray yesterday, publicly urging Mr Barilaro to sort out the koala habitat crisis “behind closed doors”.
“It’s really hard to see what their position is — are they in government or not in government? You cannot be in the cabinet from the crossbench.”
After an 8am online meeting with the Nationals party room, the team had decided this was the issue they would go to the wall on.
Announcing their approach, Mr Barilaro said the party had made a decision which “effectively … put all members on the crossbench”.
But in what Ms Berejiklian saw as an untenable position, Nationals ministers refused to quit cabinet, despite declaring they would vote against the government on a bill to repeal koala protection rules
They planned to keep the keys to their ministerial cars and $320,000 salaries but hold the government to ransom on every piece of legislation.
“We’re not just going to surrender our cabinet positions,” Mr Barilaro said.
“We need to be at the cabinet table,” he said.
He also said the party would introduce a repeal bill to the lower house on the koala planning policy.
Mr Barilaro accused the Liberals of taking the Nationals for granted and unleashed a tirade against the inner city.
“You know, it’s this city that sends its rubbish out by train every night cause you can’t stand the smell of your own garbage,” he said.
“You want wind farms but you want it in our backyard. You want solar farms but you want it in our backyard. You’d never have them at Balmoral or … on the shores of Pittwater.
“It is this city-centric approach that believes that regional rural NSW is the biodiversity offset so that you can cover for your guilt for all the concrete, all the roads, all the buildings and all the asphalt that’s been laid.
“We’re sick to death of it.”
But Mr Barilaro insisted he wouldn’t seek to bring the government down if Labor moved a vote of no confidence.
“We will not ever support the Labor Party in bringing down the government,” he said.
Port Macquarie Nationals MP Leslie Williams would not support the position and would remain with the government.
Crucially, Mr Barilaro made the threats without informing the Premier ahead of his press conference, ratcheting up tensions.
Ms Berejiklian was not surprised by Mr Barilaro’s press conference but was furious, pointing to legal requirements of Coalition government.
“It is long-established convention that members of Cabinet must support Government legislation,” the Premier said in a statement.
“It is not possible to be the Deputy Premier or a Minister of the Crown and sit on the crossbench.
“I have just made it clear to the Deputy Premier that he and his Nationals colleagues who are members of the NSW Cabinet have until 9am Friday 11 September to indicate to me whether they wish to remain in my Cabinet or else sit on the crossbench,” she said.
The Premier’s statement was issued before Mr Barilaro had even gotten back to his own office after their meeting, being prepared in advance of the 4.30pm showdown.
The meeting lasted less than a minute.
Earlier, Liberal MP Catherine Cusack had intensified calls for Mr Barilaro to step down.
She called the split within the NSW Coalition a “nasty issue” which was threatening the “stability of the government.”
“The Deputy Premier has stepped out of the cabinet and policy process and is supporting members of the government to leave and join the crossbench,” she told 2GB.
When asked whether she regretted sending texts to two Nationals MPs saying “enjoy your short career,” Ms Cusack said she felt that the split in the government was irreconcilable.
The Coalition already faced pressure to pass its legislation through the Upper House, where Labor has the numbers to work with the Greens and other crossbench members to win votes.
The Liberal party only has 12 upper house members compared to Labor’s 14. There are five Nationals and 11 crossbench members including three Greens, two Shooters, and two Animal Justice Party members.
One Nation has two members.
Labor Leader Jodi McKay yesterday appeared unlikely to test whether the Coalition had support of the parliament when it resumes next week.
The drama was sparked by National MPs’ concerns over planning guidelines designed to greater protect koala populations.
However farmers believe the guidelines (known as a State Environmental Planning Policy or SEPP) are too restrictive and poorly drafted, prohibiting their practices while failing to properly safeguard koala populations.
Mr Barilaro explained the party would take these steps until their position and amendments are considered and the issues around the SEPP are resolved.
“We accept their needs to be a SEPP in this state — we’ve always had a SEPP in relation to koalas. But under the current SEPP and the reluctance of following the commitments around guidelines we can no longer support the SEPP and therefore we will put in a repeal bill.
“The National Party stands for a thriving koala population. We actually want to see the population double — we’re not anti-koala and the idea that we are anti-koala is wrong.”
Mr Barilaro disputed claims the Nationals had stood by last year and allowed the guidelines to be approved originally.
He said the SEPP had been agreed to in a ministerial cluster meeting, with an explicit agreement in good faith that the guidelines under the SEPP would address concerns that were raised through the consultation period.
“Late last year the SEPP went through a cluster meeting on the condition from Minister Stokes through the consultation period the National Party would work with Mr Stokes in relation to … our concerns at the time we raised and we would, through the guidelines, be able to resolve those outstanding issues.”
He said then it became clear to him that after six months of negotiations Nationals “concerns were not heard”, which is ultimately what led to backbench MP Chris Gulaptis threatening to move to the crossbench.