Leaked chat messages between National MPs reveal Coalition disarray

EXCLUSIVE 

The New South Wales opposition is in total disarray following a stand-off between the respective leaders of the Coalition partners. 

Daily Mail Australia has been leaked an extract of the party room chat within the Nationals revealing just how bad the fallout from the crisis is getting.

In the chat, one MP fumed about the release of ‘contradictory’ press releases by Nationals leader Dugald Saunders and Liberal Opposition Leader Mark Speakman.

The MP, member for Tweed Geoff Provest, also fired a warning shot that the agreement between the two parties can’t just be ripped up without consultation – demanding an urgent party room meeting or he would quit the party.

The text fireworks erupted after Mr Speakman visited the state seat of Wagga Wagga this week, meeting with the local independent MP Joe McGirr. 

The flying visit wasn’t well received, however, by Nationals upper house MP Wes Fang, who took to social media to slam his Coalition leader, clearly upset at not being included in the trip. 

Mr Fang – also the Nationals whip in the upper house and a member of the Coalition’s front bench – described Mr Speakman as ‘underhanded’, only ‘pretending’ he cares about Wagga Wagga, and ‘slinking’ into town.

Mr Fang even suggested the Liberal leader’s time was up and he needs to go.

‘That should tell you everything you need to know about the longevity of ‘Speako’s’ leadership’, Mr Fang’s social media post concluded. 

Mr Speakman responded by issuing a media statement yesterday sacking Mr Fang from the Coalition’s front bench. 

He said that Mr Fang’s social media post made his position ‘untenable’ and Mr Speakman invited the Nationals leader Dugald Saunders to appoint another National to fill the vacant position. 

But Mr Saunders has defied the attempt by the Opposition leader to sack Mr Fang, putting out his own media release late yesterday claiming that only he as leader can sack a member of the Nationals from the front bench. 

Because the Coalition agreement isn’t publicly available, it is hard to know who is right about that interpretation. 

Mr Saunders made clear that he wouldn’t be sacking Mr Fang, so his Nationals colleague therefore would be continuing in his position on the Coalition front bench despite Mr Speakman’s attempt to remove him. 

It has created an untenable situation for both party leaders, with the potential for one or both of them to lose their position as leader, or the Coalition agreement between the parties could even be ripped up altogether. 

Daily Mail Australia has been exclusively given text message correspondence from the Nationals party room group chat highlighting the escalating situation. 

The longest serving member of the Nationals party room, Mr Provest, wrote on the chat: ‘The Coalition agreement cannot be torn up without any consultation or discussion in our party room.’

He requested an urgent party room meeting to resolve the issue. 

Mr Provest wrote that if a meeting isn’t called he would be forced to ‘consider my National Party membership’. 

Trying to downplay the untenable situation the Nationals leader responded, writing that he and Mr Speakman ‘are operating on very good terms’ and ‘there is absolutely no talk of our agreement being torn up’. 

The long-serving Nationals MP wasn’t buying the spin his leader was selling, however, responding forthrightly: ‘With respect Dugald, you and Mark are clearly not operating on “very good terms” otherwise the two directly contradictory press releases would not have been issued. 

‘This is most extraordinary in my time in the Parliament. I insist upon a partyroom meeting for the purpose of considering the continuation of the Coalition agreement. The partyroom must be consulted. Will you call a partyroom meeting to discuss this?’ 

The Nationals leader briefly responded: ‘sure mate – leave it with me’. 

Daily Mail Australia understands that there is a mood within the Nationals to terminate the Coalition agreement, however there are also concerns that doing so might backfire on the junior Coalition partner. 

Liberals are concerned that if the Coalition stays intact – unless the Nationals leader backs down and agrees to Mr Fang’s removal from the frontbench – the opposition leader’s authority is ‘shot to pieces’, as one Liberal MP put it.

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