Cabinet door could close for Nationals deputy

The Nationals have discussed ­decoupling the deputy leader and Senate leader positions from cabinet.

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie.

The Nationals have discussed ­decoupling the deputy leader and Senate leader positions from cabinet in a bid to accommodate MPs capable of providing strong leadership and advocacy for the regions but who are not viewed as ideal candidates for senior ­portfolios.

The Australian has confirmed the discussion took place in the partyroom when Barnaby Joyce was under pressure to resign as leader amid the fallout arising from his affair with a staffer, but his resignation in February 2018 ended further debate on any changes to the leadership rules.

Multiple sources recalled the discussion, with one saying the proposal was aimed at drawing a distinction between MPs who would make “good leaders, but not good cabinet members” and to “prevent isolation from the mob”.

Under the proposal, the ­Nationals leader would remain in cabinet but have greater flexibility to elevate MPs on merit rather than being forced to include the deputy leader among the Nationals’ cabinet allocation.

It was also aimed at allowing the deputy leader and Senate leader more time for ground work with regional communities and to better manage relations between Nationals MPs and the leader’s office in an increasingly fractious partyroom.

Former NSW senator John Williams said former Queensland senator Ron Boswell served as the party’s leader in the upper house but opted not to take a cabinet role.

“With my experience in parliament and the National party, we’ve had a precedent where Ron Boswell was leader of the Senate but not a cabinet minister,” he said.

Mr Williams argued that any decision on whether to change the automatic elevation of the deputy leader into cabinet was “totally up to the partyroom”.

The shake-up would also mean the deputy leader would not be bound by cabinet solidarity and could provide a more robust promotion of the National party line on key political differences with the Liberals.

According to the Remuneration Tribunal, the leader of a minority party with more than 10 members in the parliament is ­entitled to a 45 per cent loading on top of the base salary for MPs set at $211,250. However, there is no loading for someone who holds the deputy leader position.

This would mean that any change to the Nationals leadership rules allowing embattled Agriculture Minister Bridget ­McKenzie to stay on as the deputy — if she were demoted from cabinet by Scott Morrison — would not prevent her from losing her ministerial salary.

The community sports grants scheme, overseen by Senator­ McKenzie when she was sports minister, was found by the Australian National Audit Office to be biased towards marginal seats and electorates targeted by the Coalition before the May poll.