How David Littleproud restored integrity and credibility to the Nationals leadership
If the Coalition returns to government on May 3, David Littleproud will become Australia’s deputy prime minister. ‘I’ve got someone that I trust in Peter Dutton,’ he says.
a spill against Michael McCormack. Picture: Penny Bradfield
David Littleproud leads a National Party in transition. It is no longer exclusively the party of farmers or miners.
He sees the modern party as comprising a predominantly urban professional demographic of service workers and small business owners and managers, still socially conservative but having long moved away from agrarianism and protectionism.
“It’s evolving because regional Australia has evolved,” Littleproud says of Australia’s second oldest political party. “We represent more nurses, more policemen, more teachers than we do farmers. Our seats are urbanised. We’re not the traditional elastic-sided boot cockies coming to Canberra just supporting farmers.
“We are a modern party that represents a diverse regional electorate much like you would see in the suburbs of capital cities. So we’ve been pigeonholed, and we’ve done a good job of pigeonholing ourselves, that we are the farmers’ party.
“But we actually represent more people in urban areas than we do on rural properties.”
If the Coalition returns to government on May 3, Littleproud will become Australia’s deputy prime minister – the ninth Nationals leader to hold the No.2 position in government. He has restored credibility and integrity to the leadership that was lacking under the scandal-prone Barnaby Joyce.
The 48-year-old Nationals leader from western Queensland grew up with politics as the family business, has a professional background and a knockabout image with shirtsleeves always rolled up, black-rimmed glasses and trim physique. He is relaxed but forthright in his demeanour. He has been quietly effective in shaping Coalition policy.
In an interview with Inquirer, Littleproud spoke about overcoming “mental demons” while serving in cabinet; expanded on the Nationals’ evolving voter demographic; reflected on his relationship with Liberal leader Peter Dutton; and outlined the priorities for his party as the junior Coalition partner in government.
Littleproud has enjoyed a rapid rise in federal politics. He was elected to the sprawling Queensland seat of Maranoa in 2016, succeeding Bruce Scott, and just 18 months later was sitting in cabinet holding the ministerial portfolios of agriculture and water resources in the ill-fated Turnbull-Joyce government.
“They took a big punt on me, Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce, and I don’t blame them for being sceptical,” Littleproud says. “When you sat around that cabinet table and looked at the intellectual capacity of many of those people that were there, I had to sit quietly for a long time to try and understand how I fitted into this.
“The mental demons are there when you become a cabinet minister. It played deeply and it’s probably the hardest thing I ever had to do.
“I remember sitting on the end of my bed, living on two hours’ sleep a night, and worried about making a mess. And in the end I just went: ‘Stuff it. That’s not how we do it in western Queensland.’ ”
He went on to also hold the drought and emergency management, and northern Australia, portfolios under Scott Morrison. He became deputy Nationals leader in 2020, serving Joyce and Michael McCormack, before taking the leadership after the 2022 election. Both former leaders are seeking re-election and expect to sit in a Coalition cabinet.
Reflecting on the past three years, Littleproud says the Nationals helped to move the Liberal Party to a No position on the voice referendum; support divestiture powers as a potential tool to address the anti-competitive behaviour of major supermarkets; and adopt a nuclear energy policy to provide security, boost supply and help meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
The nuclear power plan requires state, local government and Senate approval. Littleproud says this is not insurmountable. “If we’re given that mandate, then state and local governments should be ready to respect it and to work with it,” he insists. “Now, if they don’t, obviously there are constitutional reaches that can be taken. But in our country we shouldn’t have to do that.”
The Nationals also secured a campaign commitment to establish a regional Australia future fund seeded with “windfall revenue” to spend on infrastructure, health and aged-care services, tourism and trade promotion, and improve mobile and internet services. Littleproud says this is about recognising the contribution of the regions to the national economy and ensuring intergenerational equity.
Debate about whether the Nationals should merge with the Liberals, as the parties did in Queensland, have faded.
But Littleproud says the Nationals should remain a distinct party with a unique brand on the centre-right. While the party is squaring off against Liberals in several seats at this election, it also has to battle Labor in the regions and far-right reactionary fringe parties led by Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer.
Littleproud says it is essential the party has a broad appeal beyond its traditional constituency, insisting the Nationals are “blind to race and religion” and accept the reality of climate change by facilitating the decarbonisation of the economy and backing the target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
He emphasises that it is policy that matters most and it is not about grandstanding or threatening the Liberal Party but working collaboratively to support a shared agenda. He downplays the formal Coalition agreement and says trust, respect and co-operation are more important than a signed piece of paper. He names Dutton as the best Liberal leader he has worked with.
“I’ve got someone that I trust in Peter Dutton,” he says. “We actually sit there, look at each other and work through the problem. We get to an agreement and we shake hands on it, and that’s enough for me, and that’s what we’ve done for three years and that’s what we’ll do if we’re a government.” He would keep the agriculture portfolio in a Coalition government with the live export industry, water policy and work visas being a priority.
Sitting around the cabinet table, Littleproud is unique in that although he has a background in agribusiness, he does not have a university degree.
“They might have degrees, but I’ve got a degree from western Queensland in hard knocks and humility,” he says of his approach.
“I’ll use that and stick to my principles. I don’t give a toss what everyone thinks of me in that room. I’m just going to do and say what I think is right for those people that I represent, and what’s good for the country.”
Politics is in the blood. Littleproud’s grandfather, George, was a councillor. His father, Brian, was a Queensland state Nationals MP for almost two decades (1983-2001) during Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s reign and served as a minister in governments led by Mike Ahern (1987-89) and Rob Borbidge (1996-98). Brian Littleproud also was deputy leader of the party (1991-92).
“Bjelke-Petersen was a god in our part of the world,” David Littleproud says. “I’ve always looked up to my dad. He was there during Bjelke-Petersen’s highs and then lows. He made sure the Fitzgerald inquiry (into police and political corruption) could get up. He believed there was a need for integrity in what was happening in government and police (and) to be cleaned up.”
Working in agribusiness for the National Australia Bank and Suncorp for almost two decades was a good grounding for politics, Littleproud says. He learnt humility by seeing people under serious financial stress, suffering in violent marriages and worried about putting food on the table, and for the future of their farms and businesses. “I sat around the kitchen tables lending money to farmers,” he says. “You’re not just a bank manager, you’re a financial adviser, you’re a marriage counsellor sometimes, you’re part of their family. So that also takes its toll because while there’s some good times, the hard times are pretty difficult.”
When last in government, the Liberal Party cycled through three prime ministers. The Nationals also were divided with several leadership challenges and a revolving-door leadership. Littleproud served as deputy to both McCormack and Joyce.
“Barnaby is obviously colourful and vivacious and when I came in, in 2016, he was at the peak of his powers,” Littleproud says. “Had we lost a couple of National Party seats, we would have lost government. Michael is very much workmanlike. He does the policy work, the policy grunt, and he might not be as vivacious and as appetising to the media, but Michael is reliable, thorough and loyal.
“My leadership is different. Mine is about making sure we have generational change while respecting those who have led us.”
He adds: “Look at what we’ve done for the last three years: I’ve shaped the future of the National Party in terms of having the courage to set the national agenda, whether that be on the voice, whether that be on nuclear, whether that be on the divestiture powers.”
During the campaign, Littleproud has been working the so-called wombat trail through rural and regional seats around Australia. The term was popularised by legendary National Party leaders such as Doug Anthony and Ian Sinclair. Littleproud is confident that if enough seats fall the Coalition’s way – he says at least 72-73 – they can claw their way into government with the support of independents.
He names Bob Katter, Dai Le, Rebekha Sharkie and Allegra Spender as independents they can possibly deal with in a minority parliament because they are “more aligned to be sensible on policy and doing the right thing for the country” rather than seeking “local trinkets” for their electorates.
“If we’re in a position to govern for this country, then we should,” Littleproud says. “But we can’t do it at any cost and we’ve got to make sure that there’s an understanding that we just don’t sell out what we put to the Australian people. This is why this election is critical. Our nation can’t afford to have uncertainty and chaos. We need stability. We need strength of leadership.”
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