Australia's century-old conservative political partnership has shattered just weeks before a federal election, with the Nationals walking out after a bitter dispute over gun control and party leadership.
The Liberal-National Coalition, which has governed Australia for most of the past eight decades, dissolved on January 21 following a mass resignation of Nationals frontbenchers and a vote by the party room to end the alliance.
The split came on what was supposed to be a day of mourning for victims of recent violence. Instead, chaos erupted as the Nationals voted against gun control policies supported by the Liberals, then announced they could no longer work under Liberal leader Sussan Ley's leadership.
Mate, this is a political earthquake. The Coalition has been the bedrock of conservative politics in Australia since the 1920s. And it's fallen apart three weeks before voters head to the polls.
The Breaking Point
The immediate trigger was gun policy reform introduced after recent shootings. The legislation passed Parliament anyway, but not before the Nationals made their opposition clear by voting against their own coalition partners.
Then came the frontbench resignations. One after another, senior Nationals MPs quit their shadow portfolios, making it impossible for the Coalition to function as a unified opposition.
Finally, Nationals leader David Littleproud declared the partnership "untenable" and withdrew from the Coalition arrangement entirely.
But the chaos didn't stop there. The Nationals reportedly won't just leave the Coalition—they're trying to dictate who the Liberals can have as leader, refusing to work with Ley in any future arrangement.
A Century of Partnership, Gone
The Liberal-National Coalition has been the default conservative government model since 1923. The Liberals dominated urban and suburban seats, while the Nationals held rural and regional electorates.
Together, they formed government 20 times. Apart, they've never won power at the federal level.
That's because Australia's preferential voting system makes it nearly impossible for either party to govern alone. They need each other. Or at least, they used to.
Now, according to the ABC, both parties are facing an election in complete disarray, with neither able to credibly claim they're ready to govern.
The Optics Are Diabolical
Political analysts have described the timing as catastrophic. On a day meant to honor victims and debate serious policy reform, the conservative side of politics chose to implode instead.
The Nationals are being accused of hijacking the tragedy to force a leadership showdown. The Liberals are being accused of losing control of their partners. And voters are watching the whole mess unfold weeks before they're supposed to choose a government.
For Labor, this is a gift. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can point to the chaos and ask: do you really want these people running the country?
For the Liberals and Nationals, this is existential. If they can't rebuild the Coalition before election day, they're both finished. And even if they do, the damage is done.
What Happens Now?
The Liberals and Nationals will contest the election separately unless they can patch things up in the next few weeks. That means vote splitting, preference deals, and complete uncertainty about who would actually lead a conservative government if one were elected.
The Nationals are demanding Ley step aside as a condition of any future partnership. The Liberals are refusing. It's a standoff with no clear resolution.
Meanwhile, voters in regional Australia—the Nationals' base—are watching their party blow up the only viable path to conservative government over gun policy and personality clashes.
This is the kind of political chaos that usually destroys parties. And it's happening in real time, on the biggest stage, weeks before an election.
Mate, there's a whole continent and a thousand islands down here. And right now, the conservative side of politics in the biggest one just tore itself apart.
