What the new Liberal and Nats leaders will do for Australia

Introducing the new sheriffs in Canberra

Introducing the new sheriffs in Canberra

Peter Dutton and David Littleproud are now the respective leaders of the Liberal and Nationals parties in a major shake-up for the Coalition following a bruising election defeat.

At a meeting of Liberal politicians in Canberra on Monday, Dutton was unopposed in his bid for the top job and replaces former prime minister Scott Morrison. 

Dutton said his leadership would focus on the "forgotten Australians" in suburban and rural Australia as he vowed to turn the Coalition into a viable alternative ahead of the 2025 election.

"We will have presented a plan to the Australian people which will clean up Labor's inevitable mess and lay out our own vision," he said.

"Make no mistake, and Australians understand this, the next three years under Labor is going to be tough for the Australian people. Already they're breaking promises and foreshadowing policy shifts. They weren't ready to govern."

Sussan Ley will be Dutton's deputy.

The Liberal leadership team are Peter Dutton and his deputy Sussan Ley.

The NSW MP, is also the former health minister who quit after an expenses bungle back in 2017 in Malcolm Turnbull's government, and then rejoined Cabinet as environment minister under Scott Morrison.

So while Dutts has had some real life experience being a cop in Queensland for a few years, Ley has a resume bursting with diverse accomplishments.

She's a qualified pilot and while she was studying in aviation she also held down gigs such as air traffic controller, did a few seasons mustering as a pilot and also worked as a shearer's cook.

Sussan Ley at the Albury Airport with a plane she used to train in.

Ley said the opposition was determined to win back the support of women amid voter backlash against the former Morrison government's handling of the Brittany Higgins allegations.

Ley told 2GB Radio in Sydney on Monday she would raise the idea of gender quotas at the next party room meeting.

“I’ll be talking about it the next time our party meets,” she said.

Ley has previously championed the idea, calling for a 40% gender quota in preselections akin to the Labor Party.

“I’ve talked about that. I’ve made that clear in my own state division in NSW.”

The Liberal Party has so far resisted calls to implement a gender quota for its preselections.

Meanwhile, former agriculture minister and Queensland MP, Littleproud, knocked-off Barnaby Joyce as leader of the Nationals party in a separate vote. NSW Senator Perin Davey will be his deputy. 

No policy & no detail. In just 2 minutes here's why Australian agriculture can't afford to risk Labor. pic.twitter.com/284GXQNofe

— David Littleproud MP (@D_LittleproudMP) April 22, 2022

In the aftermath of the election, some argued a new leader was required to unite the Nationals as the climate change views of some MPs were seen to have hurt their Liberal colleagues in inner city seats.

Littleproud called his new role the proudest moment of his professional life as he said he would begin discussions with Dutton on the Coalition agreement, including over the number of Nationals MPs that will be included on the front bench. 

"It's well beyond just positions. It's also about policy settings. There are clear values and principles of the National Party that we are now custodians of to lead," Littleproud said. 

Dutton has attracted controversy in recent years having walked out of Kevin Rudd's 2008 apology to the Stolen Generations. A move he later said he regretted. 

Asked on Monday whether he would support Labor's proposal to hold a referendum to enshrine an indigenous voice in the constitution Dutton said he would await to see the details provided by incoming Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney. 

"I made a mistake in relation to the apology and largely that was because of my own background and experience," he said. "Many of you have lived out in regional areas and many of you haven’t."

Dutton was not clear whether he would support legislating carbon emissions targets, declaring: "I’m a very passionate believer in making sure we have the appropriate response to the issue of our emissions reductions."

"We need to do it in a sensible way ... We will have obviously our shadow cabinet meeting, this is day one of a three year journey. We’ll go through the party room and respect all those processes before we announce any change to that policy," he said.

Dutton also claimed power bills would go up under Labor and his policies would seek to "build manufacturing capacity" and "safeguard small business."

Ousted former leader Barnaby Joyce congratulated his successful challenger saying he "wasn't really" sad about the result. It's the second time he has lost the leadership of the Nationals party.

“I want to congratulate David, Perin [Davey], and Bridget [McKenzie]," he said. "They have a mighty task ahead of them and will give them all the support I can.”

“I suppose you think I am sad. Not really.”

I want to congratulate David, Perin and Bridget. They have a mighty task ahead of them and I will give them all the support I can.

Thank you for all your support, I look forward to continuing on my work on behalf of my nation and on behalf of my electorate. pic.twitter.com/tFQq5PPH71

— Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) May 30, 2022