Scott Morrison asks Nationals to focus not jostle

Scott Morrison has called on Coalition MPs to maintain their ‘complete focus’ on the Australian people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Michael McCormack. Picture: Sean Davey

Scott Morrison has called on Coalition MPs to maintain their “complete focus” on the Australian people as Nationals leader Michael McCormack pushed back against growing internal pressure for him to step aside before the next election.

Senior Nationals MPs publicly backed Mr McCormack on Tuesday after The Australian revealed Agriculture Minister David Little­proud and Resources Minister Keith Pitt were positioning for the party leadership if the job was vacated.

Asked if he wanted to lead the Nationals, Mr Littleproud supported Mr McCormack remaining in the role but said “everybody in this place aspires to lead their party”.

“It would be a lie for any of the 151 members of parliament to say that they do not have ambition; they would be lying to you,” Mr Littleproud said.

“But there is a time and place for everything and sometimes in politics it is about timing and opportunity, and sometimes the political gods are not shining.”

Senior Liberal figures have expressed private frustration with Mr McCormack’s inability to control his partyroom, with Nationals MPs “freelancing” on government policy ranging from higher education reforms and regional airport funding to COVID-19 border closures.

The “Nationals Senate Team”, led by former cabinet ministers Bridget McKenzie and Matt Canavan, have established a strong voice in the upper house leading campaigns on core party issues.

Senior Nationals sources said any leadership transition would need to occur before the federal party conference, which has been delayed until March next year, or before the December ministerial reshuffle prompted by the retirement of Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday told the Coalition joint partyroom the “unity and discipline” of the federal government was important in navigating the pandemic and that all MPs should maintain their “complete focus” on the Australian people. Mr Morrison told colleagues Australia needed a government led by a “strong” Coalition.

In his partyroom speech, Mr McCormack lauded Mr Morrison’s leadership through tough times and spoke about the impacts of border closures on regional communities and how agricultural exports continued to prop up the economy and trade through the pandemic.

Senator McKenzie, forced to resign from cabinet earlier this year following the sports rorts scandal, said Mr McCormack had let his MPs lead the fight on policy battles with the Liberals.

“Whether it’s the live cattle appeal decision, whether it’s on regional education, focusing on a better deal for our students and our communities, whether it’s a freight code that now will become a template for agriculture and other areas of state joint jurisdictional responsibility, it’s the National Party that’s driven that,” she told ABC News.

“And that’s under the leadership of Michael McCormack, who doesn’t want to hog the microphone for himself. He allows his ministers and his party members to get out there and fight for our communities.”

Veteran Affairs Minister Darren Chester said Mr McCormack would lead the party to the next election. “Michael is a guy who gets things done. He mightn’t be as flashy as other people claim they want him to be. But the simple fact is he gets stuff done and regional Australians like things that work and Michael McCormack works,” Mr Chester said.

Mr Chester, a strong backer of Mr McCormack, described speculation that Mr Littleproud was pushing for the leadership as “absolute crap”.

“He’s doing his job in agriculture. He’s the deputy leader of the party. He’s loyal to Michael and he’s working his butt off,” he said.

Senator Canavan said: “I’m confident Michael will still be the leader at the next election. We sorted that issue out earlier this year. I support him because the partyroom does.”

Additional reporting: Richard Ferguson