Central Qld politicians says LNP split better for regional, rural voters

A National Party MP says her party and the Liberals are “having a break” following the shock news about the coalition’s were decision to split up an 80-year relationship.

A regional National Party federal politician has shared her thoughts about her party’s move to split up an 80-year relationship.

Capricornia MP Michelle Landry has spoken about this afternoon’s breaking news that the National and Liberal Party’s coalition, which dates back to 1946 when the Liberal Party first formed and the National Party was known as the Country Party.

Ms Landry, who has grown up and worked in the regional city of Rockhampton her whole life, said the split would allow the National Party to do what it stood for – fight for regional Australia.

“Obviously we are going to have more leeway now because the Liberal Party has people in city seats that often have different views of what we do in regional and rural Australia so we will be very much focused on our policies and about our vision for the future,” she said.

“I think people will respect that because that’s what we are about.

“We are about fighting for regional Australia and getting the best we actually can for people that vote for us.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud and Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry at the Royal Flying Doctor Service base in Rockhampton.

Ms Landry said the decision to split wasn’t something made “lightly”, with “some very important meetings” over the past few days discussing issues.

“Our leadership team couldn’t come to an agreement with the Liberals leadership team about where we were headed about things like divestiture, nuclear power, the Nationals Future Fund – those things that were really important to us and the Liberals couldn’t confirm that they were going to support those in the future,” she said.

“So we are having a break from each other and we will see how things pan out in the future.”

Ms Landry said the National

Party had not ruled out the formation of another coalition government.

National’s Leader David Littleproud and the Liberals’ Peter Dutton with Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry during the 2025 federal election campaign in Rockhampton. Photo: Supplied

“Obviously we need to be a coalition to win government,” Ms Landry said.

“We need 76 seats.

“That’s the magic number.

“This is not a total divorce from the Liberal Party forever.

“Obviously we’ll look at policies on each side and work together for the benefit of this nation and if we want to win the next election, we will need to form a coalition again for that.

“I think the Liberals are focusing on rebuilding and us focusing on what we can do for the people in regional Australia.”

Dawson MP Andew Willcox, who sits with the Nationals in Canberra, backs his party’s decision to step away from the Liberals side over the “four principles that we would not move on”.

“I want to make sure that our people at Dawson get the same opportunities and the same level of service as what they do in the southeast corner and down in the cities,” Mr Willcox said.

Nationals MP Andrew Willcox with Nationals Leader David Littleproud MP and Senator Bridget McKenzie after the party’s decision to split from the Liberals.

He said his electorate contributed so much.

“It’s where all the food is produced. It’s where all our royalties come from, from mining... we’re the biggest sugar growing area in the country and 80 per cent of that’s exported,” he said.

Mr Willcox said the Nationals were willing “to keep the door open... for more negotiations”.

“If the Liberals come back and say that they’ll agree to that, well I’m sure that our leadership will be up for the discussion, but we’re making a principle stand,” he said.

Mr Willcox, who was reelected for his second term at the recent federal election, said the split did not impact his ability to fight for his region.

“I will be presenting good business cases, explaining how important my electorate is for the overall economy... and saying if you want to keep us being able to deliver so much that we do for Australia’s prosperity, we need some services,“ he said, adding his number one priority was to ‘fix the Bruce Highway’.”

Flynn MP Colin Boyce said the Nationals made the decision to split from coalition as a party.

Flynn MP Colin Boyce said the Nationals decision to not enter a federal coalition agreement with the Liberal Party was a decision made by the party room.

“The decision by the Nationals to not enter a federal coalition agreement will not change my position as the Federal Member for Flynn,” he said.

“I will continue to be a strong representative for Central Queensland and for our communities’ needs.

“The Nationals must now refocus and draw our attention to a number of issues.

“This includes our opposition to the Labor Government’s tax on unrealised gains, the reckless renewables rollout and how it’ll drive up the price of power which will drive up the cost of living and understand the detrimental effects of Net Zero targets and job destroying policies such as the Safeguard Mechanism.”

Originally published as Central Qld politicians says LNP split better for regional, rural voters