Nationals MP Andrew Gee quits party over Indigenous voice stance to sit as independent

Nationals frontbencher Andrew Gee has quit the party to sit on the crossbench, citing the leadership’s opposition to an Indigenous voice to parliament as the main reason behind his decision.

Andrew Gee has quit the National Party and will sit as an independent. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Nationals frontbencher Andrew Gee has shocked his colleagues by quitting the party to sit on the crossbench, citing the leadership’s opposition to an Indigenous voice to parliament as the main reason behind his decision.

Mr Gee told The Weekend Australian he had become “increasingly disillusioned” and felt he couldn’t speak freely on issues, such as support for the voice as well as the need for more urgent natural disaster assistance.

Anthony Albanese, who phoned Mr Gee on Friday after his announcement, said the NSW MP’s decision to leave the ­Nationals was “extraordinary”, and he was pleased he would be part of the campaign for a Yes vote ahead of the referendum.

Senior Nationals MPs were left stunned by Mr Gee’s departure from the junior Coalition party, with one calling on him to stand down from parliament.

Mr Gee made the announcement through a public post on Facebook, stating: “It is with ­sadness that I am resigning from the NSW National Party, effective immediately.

“The National Party of today is very different to the one of my youth,” he wrote in the post.

“The recent decision by the National Party to oppose the ­Indigenous voice to parliament – and also witnessing the devastation our region has experienced over the past few weeks – has really brought home to me the ­importance of being able to stand up and be counted.”

Senior party leadership was not made aware of his decision until just hours before it was made public, The Weekend Australian understands.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said he was “disappointed” by the decision. He said Mr Gee had always been free to form his own position on issues such as the Indigenous voice.

“While the federal Nationals remain united in our decision to oppose the voice to parliament, I have stated from the beginning that one of the great things about our partyroom is the ability to have different opinions and speak and vote freely on issues that ­matter to individual members and nothing has changed,” Mr Littleproud said.

Mr Gee said he felt there was “no need” for the party to have locked in its position on the voice at the end of November.

“I was shocked at the press conference that followed,” he said. “What’s needed is a conversation about the voice, not closed minds. I still don’t understand why that press conference needed to be called. These issues have been weighing heavily on me over the past few weeks and cul­minated in me making the decision I have.”

Mr Gee said he had started to become disillusioned about his role in parliament before the party announced its formal position on the voice, and that spending time in flood-ravaged communities in the past two months had “had an impact” on him.

“A time like this makes you ­appreciate what’s important, and that the only guarantee in life is that it is short,” he said.

“I was becoming increasingly disillusioned by some of the press conferences I was seeing at places like Eugowra because I didn’t think they were being backed up with fast enough action.

“While I’ve advocated for broader assistance measures to be rolled out faster, I didn’t feel that I could speak out on such issues as freely as I would have liked.”

Senior Nationals MPs who knew nothing of Mr Gee’s decision until it was made public shared their disbelief.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said members of the party were free to disagree and “could always cross the floor”, while Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan said Mr Gee could have canvassed his concerns more openly with the party.

“I’m living proof you can have different views in the National Party and survive. I’ve taken different positions on climate from the room, I’ve always done so by letting the room know and then forcefully advocating for my view,” Senator Canavan said.

Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey, a NSW senator and friend of Mr Gee’s, said no action was taken against him after he announced his position on the voice.

“We supported his right to have his position,” she said.

“I’m not sure whether he even sounded any of us out before making the decision (to resign).”

Victorian Nationals MP Darren Chester said “the honourable thing” for Mr Gee to do was “stand down from parliament”, rather than become an independent MP.

The move followed Mr Gee threatening to resign as veteran affairs minister ahead of the ­Coalition’s March budget in protest of the lack of funding that was needed to help clear the backlog in compensation claims.

The Coalition has 58 votes in the House of Representatives compared to the government’s 77 votes, meaning Mr Gee’s jump to the 16-strong crossbench will make little to no difference to the passage of legislation in the lower house.

But his shock resignation is a blow to the Nationals, which hold 22 seats in federal parliament.

The Prime Minister said he “respected” Mr Gee’s decision and his government would now work with him as an independent.

“Andrew Gee has made a principled statement about his commitment to constitutional recog­nition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but also a constitutionally recognised voice to parliament,” he said.

Mr Gee confirmed he had received a phone call from Mr Albanese soon after he made his announcement. “The conversation with the PM was just a friendly, informal chat about a range of issues including the importance of the voice, support for our storm- and flood-devastated communities, and doing some surfing over Christmas,” he said.