‘Terrible consequences’ if two parties do not reunite, says John Howard

Liberal and National Party elders – including former PM John Howard – are urging David Littleproud and Sussan Ley to rebuild the Coalition or face ‘terrible consequences’.

Former prime minister John Howard says the Liberal and Nationals parties need to repair the Coalition. Picture: Damian Shaw

John Howard has urged the Liberal and Nationals parties to repair the Coalition quickly or face “terrible consequences”, saying he is deeply concerned about the split.

The former Liberal prime minister said the two parties were strongest in coalition, and reminded today’s leaders that he resisted Liberal Party calls in 1996 to go it alone, after his party won enough seats to govern in its own right.

“As a strong ­Coalitionist, I’m very concerned about today’s developments and I hope the two parties continue to talk to each other, and I hope the Coalition is reformed well before the next election,” Mr Howard told The Australian on Tuesday.

“The best interest of the two parties is served by being in ­coalition and they are strongest politically and policy wise when both parties have been together.

“There have always been some policy differences, there is nothing new about that. It’s important that the policy differences be resolved or accommodated within the framework of a coalition.

“If we go our separate ways, those issues will harden and become greater.

“I hope I don’t need to remind followers of both parties of the terrible political consequences of the destruction of the Coalition in 1987 at the hands of the Queensland National Party.

“I’m not likening it to this, but it is a guide to what happens when both parties think they can achieve more separately than together. They can’t.”

In April 1987, then Queensland National Party premier Joh ­Bjelke-Petersen’s “Joh for PM” campaign broke the Coalition agreement between Mr Howard and federal Nationals leader Ian Sinclair in opposition.

It was repaired after 100 days in August of that year.

Mr Howard said in 1996 that the scale of the Liberal victory was so great that it could have governed in its own right. “A few Liberals wanted to do that and I said no. I said no because I realised that we would need the partnership of the National Party after the following election, and of course we did as we lost a lot of seats in 1998,” he said.

“I hope they continue talking and hope they reform a coalition as soon as possible. The idea that it will naturally come back tighter should not be entertained.”

Former politician Ron Boswell at his home East Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

Former veteran Nationals Senate leader Ron Boswell said the Coalition split was “a good time to pause, withdraw and reflect” after the bruising defeat at the May 3 federal election.

Mr Boswell, who was a Queensland senator for 31 years between 1983 and 2014, and was Nationals leader in the Senate between 1990 and 2007, told The Australian the split meant the Liberals and Nationals were “in territory we’ve never been in before”.

“We’ve never received such a strong disciplinary message from the electorate. It may be a good time to just pause a bit, withdraw, reflect and I think that’s what the National Party has done,” he said.

Mr Boswell said he did not believe it would have any implications for the Liberal National Party in Queensland, which formally merged in 2008.

He said the two parties would have to come back together at some stage, to meet the expectations of voters.

“The public votes for the ­Coalition. They don’t vote for the National Party or the Liberal Party. In their mind, there is a Coalition that is going to run this country, and to go to an election as two separate parties would be very difficult. I think both parties will sort themselves out.”

He said the Nationals needed to stand up for their constituents and the Liberal Party needed to ­listen to what its Coalition partner said, rather than just using its numbers.