Coalition’s federal split to have ‘no bearing’ on Queensland’s LNP: Springborg

The father of the merged Liberal National Party in Queensland insists the federal Coalition split will have no bearing on the state party.

Nationals leader David Littleproud – himself elected under the LNP banner in his Maranoa electorate – blew up the federal Coalition on Tuesday after failing to negotiate terms with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

“[The Liberals] are going on a journey of rediscovery and this will provide them the opportunity to do that without the spectre of the National Party imposing their will,” Littleproud said as he announced the split.

Despite being National Party leader, Littleproud – along with every federal Liberal or National MP from Queensland – was elected under the LNP banner.

LNP president Lawrence Springborg – who, as Queensland Nationals leader, helped orchestrate the 2008 merger with the Liberals – said the fractures in Canberra would not extend to the merged party.

“The current discussions between the respective federal party rooms have no bearing or impact on the organisational arrangements within the Queensland LNP, which has recently won the Brisbane City Council election, state election, and was the only state or territory to secure the majority of seats and the majority of votes in the recent federal election,” he said.

LNP president Lawrence Springborg says the Coalition split will have no effect on the merged party in Queensland.Credit: Renee Melides

“If the former Liberal-National Coalition had achieved the same proportion of seats in other states and territories as the LNP in Queensland at the federal election, Peter Dutton and David Littleproud would be prime minister and deputy prime minister respectively, with a four-seat working majority.”

Of the 16 LNP MPs elected this month, 10 sit in the Liberal party room in Canberra and six with the Nationals.

Former state Labor minister and parliamentary Speaker John Mickel, now a professor of politics at Queensland University of Technology, said he did not expect the federal split to have an impact on the LNP.

“The merged LNP was about resolving a state impasse – the Libs had no money and no organisation beyond the south-east, and the Nats had money and members, but couldn’t break into the south-east,” he said.

“They tried it with three-cornered contests for decades and just couldn’t get it, and the only way they could resolve it in the face of ongoing Labor landslides was to merge.”

That had served the LNP well, Mickel said, so a state-level split was unlikely – and the federal split might also be short-lived.

“What [the Nationals] are quickly going to find is, when parliament goes back, they’re going to have to queue up with the independents, etc, to get their question because they’re just another grouping,” he said.

“That will tend to blunt any question time attack because they will have to share some questions with the independents.

“The Libs will be weakened, and they’ll have to share some questions with the Nats. Tactically, that will be a mess after a while.”

Springborg said the LNP was optimistic that the federal Liberal and National party rooms would eventually negotiate a new Coalition agreement.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.