Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s defection kills off any potential Taylor-Ley leadership peace deal

Angus Taylor’s move to recruit Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has triggered anger from senior Nationals and threatens to engulf the party beyond Tuesday’s vote to replace Peter Dutton.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Photo: James Horan / TWAM

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

A bloody civil war threatens to engulf the federal Liberal Party beyond next Tuesday’s vote to replace Peter Dutton, after Angus Taylor orchestrated the high-profile defection of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Nationals to bolster his numbers.

The Australian can reveal efforts to broker a peace deal between Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Mr Taylor have been abandoned, with Liberal MPs fearing a tight vote would split the party and undermine the authority of the winning candidate.

Ahead of a Tuesday showdown in Canberra next week, the fight between Ms Ley and Mr Taylor turned ugly as Senator Price quit the Nationals and Liberals conceded that toxic factional NSW Liberal Party brawling had now been transplanted into the federal parliamentary team.

Mr Taylor’s move to recruit Senator Price triggered anger from senior Nationals, including Matt Canavan, who compared his former colleague with Lidia Thorpe.

The Nationals could now lose its major party status in the Senate after Senator Price’s defection and Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey’s failure to win re-election. The party’s numbers in the upper house will now shrink to four.

The Australian understands Senator Price did not consult with Nationals colleagues before she quit.

Angus Taylor. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senior Liberal MPs backing Ms Ley and Mr Taylor on Thursday claimed to have at least 20-plus votes, including candidates and MPs subject to close vote counts in battleground seats, and senators on track to lose their spots or whose terms expire on June 30.

The Australian understands Mr Taylor is ahead of Ms Ley in the race to secure the votes of key frontbenchers Dan Tehan and Jane Hume.

Senator Hume, who as opposition finance spokeswoman worked closely with Mr Taylor ahead of the election, was earlier this year endorsed as the head of the federal Liberal moderates faction following Simon Birmingham’s retirement.

It would be a major blow for the moderates if their nominated leader sided with the conservatives.

Both camps on Thursday could not categorically claim the support of Senator Hume, who is understood to be frustrated about internal attacks targeting her role around the abandoned working from home crackdown and “Chinese spies” comments.

Some Liberal MPs said they believed Ms Ley and Mr Taylor both presented poor options for the party, given their prominent roles ahead of last weekend’s historic election defeat to Labor.

Ms Ley’s supporters have promoted the need for the party to have stronger female representation, criticised Mr Taylor’s failure to cut-through on economic policies and pledged to make the party more mainstream in the face of rising challenges in traditionally safe Coalition seats from Labor and Climate 200-backed Teals.

Sussan Ley. Picture: Sunday Telegraph/ Brendan Read

Supporters of Mr Taylor warned say that depending on the final make-up of the federal parliamentary team when some Senators’ terms expire, they could challenge Ms Ley if she falls over the line in the vote next week.

While Mr Tehan, Ted O’Brien and other names have been floated as deputy leader candidates, Liberal sources said Senator Price could nominate for the position following her defection.

Senator Price said she believed she could be “more effective” in the Liberal Pparty room, which she believed was her “natural home”.

The 43-year-old said she had not taken the decision to defect “lightly”.

“I want to bring back our core values of liberty, individual freedom and responsibility, the rule of law, free market and economic prosperity, minimal government intervention, a fair go and, most of all, love for our nation, Australia,” Senator Price said.

“The future of this nation is not built by living in the past. We learn from our history. We don’t repeat our mistakes, but we grow stronger and move forward. That is the Australian way.”

Senior Nationals sources described Senator Price’s move as the “ultimate betrayal” and accused her of failing to follow proper processes in choosing to switch partyrooms.

Senator Canavan said “this act makes Jacinta the Lidia Thorpe of the Liberal Party … she has switched teams after being elected – in fact, she hasn’t been elected yet, the votes are still being counted – and she has switched to ­another side”.

“That disenfranchises the voters, disappoints members, and is a slap in the face to her friends and colleagues who have supported her,” he said. “Jacinta has been elected with the use of National Party funds, the National Party’s efforts.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud said he was “disappointed” at her defection. He said the Country Liberal Party senator had “ambitions that extend beyond the possibilities” of the regional party.

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