Jacinta Price defects to Liberals, expected to run as Angus Taylor’s deputy

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is expected to run as Angus Taylor’s deputy in the battle for the Liberal Party leadership against Sussan Ley, after her shock defection from the National Party on Thursday afternoon.

The move has effectively blown apart the Coalition, angering Liberal moderates hoping Ley, the current deputy leader, would replace Peter Dutton as opposition leader, and devastating the National Party.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Peter Dutton during the election campaign.Credit: James Brickwood

Price only phoned Nationals leader David Littleproud as she released a statement announcing her move, according to two sources familiar with Price who were unauthorised to speak publicly. The late call was designed to head off any attempt by Littleproud to thwart the switch.

As a member of the Country Liberal Party, the Northern Territory’s merged division of the Coalition, she can sit in either the National or Liberal party rooms in Canberra, but it is unclear if the CLP itself gets to decide where Price sits.

The move gives Price a vote in the tight contest between Taylor and Ley, which one Liberal MP supporting Ley described as a “desperate branch stack” and a “hostile takeover by the National Party”.

Sources close to Taylor, unable to speak publicly, said Price was gearing up to run as Taylor’s deputy when the party room meets on Tuesday to elect a new leader. The shadow treasurer’s camp believes her star power in the party room and with the supporter base will make Taylor’s ticket hard to resist.

Price (centre) with former PMs Tony Abbott and John Howard at the Liberal Party campaign launch on April 13.Credit: James Brickwood

Former prime minister Tony Abbott played a key role convincing Price to move. The senator, who is hugely popular among conservatives, was interested in joining the Liberal Party last term. She has also been courted by Liberals to run for a lower house seat, but that is not on the cards immediately.

In Price’s statement, she said she had not made the decision lightly but wanted to help rebuild the Liberal Party after its worst loss in its history.

“I am deeply appreciative of the opportunities the National Party under David Littleproud’s leadership has given me, most notably the responsibility of leading the No campaign in the Voice referendum,” she said in the statement.

“I am eager to fight for the best interests of all Australians as part of the Coalition. I do, however, feel the Liberal Party is my natural home.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud in 2023 with party MPs including Price (second from right).Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Signalling that she would not back away from culture wars, she said: “Let this be the moment we stop whispering our values and start declaring them again, not as fringe ideas, but as the foundation on which this country was built.”

The National Party lost its deputy leader Perin Davey at the election, meaning the party has only four senators after Price’s defection and is in danger of losing its party status, which requires five upper house members. This has implications for funding and staff allocation.

Littleproud released a statement hours after Price’s move, saying he was “disappointed”.

“The Nationals negotiated an extra position in shadow cabinet before the election, to give Senator Nampijinpa Price a promotion and shadow ministerial opportunity,” he said.

“The Nationals were the first to lead the ‘No’ case in relation to the Voice, backing Senator Nampijinpa Price early and before anyone else did. I appreciate Senator Nampijinpa Price has ambition that extends beyond the possibilities of the Nationals and I wish her well.”

The race between Taylor and Ley had already descended into acrimony as both sides released files of compromising information about each other.

Taylor released a statement late on Thursday that said: “I’m delighted by the news that Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will join the Liberal Party.”

A key backer of Taylor, senator James Paterson, celebrated Price’s move on Instagram, saying he was “delighted”.

“Welcome home Jacinta!” he said.

Price is rated as one of the most popular MPs in parliament, according to this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor. But questions have already been raised about her mainstream appeal after she echoed Donald Trump’s talking points during the campaign and photos emerged of her in a MAGA cap.

“She is Temu Trump in a skirt and electoral poison,” one moderate MP said.

One of her backers acknowledged she had flaws and needed to be tamed, but argued she had the firepower the party needed.

“There’s no one more popular among the party members and few who can take the fight up to Labor like her,” the right-wing MP said.

Her shift also adds to pressure on Littleproud, whose own position as leader will be decided in a National Party meeting on Monday. Littleproud’s position is expected to be safe, but some allies of Barnaby Joyce want him to stand aside.

“David Littleproud should step down from the leadership and accept some of the responsibility,” Nationals MP Colin Boyce told this masthead.

“He was part of the leadership team that got us to where we are.”

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