The NSW Liberal Party will consider splitting with its Coalition partners during a party room meeting on Tuesday as Nationals leader Dugald Saunders’ continued defiance deepens the fissures in the Opposition.
The blue over a Facebook post by Nationals MLC Wes Fang threatens to tear apart the Coalition agreement, with Liberal MPs called to an urgent meeting on Tuesday to consider the future of their partnership with the Nationals.
Nationals MP Wes Fang is at the centre of a row between the Coalition partners.Credit: Peter Rae
Senior Liberal sources who spoke to the Herald on the proviso of anonymity said the purpose of the party room was to “draw a line in the sand”. MPs have been brought together to discuss “what happened last week” and how the party moves forward.
One senior source said the prospect of a split was “very serious” and a “genuine consideration” for Liberal MPs over the next 48 hours. Another said Fang had “shit canned” Speakman, while Saunders had openly defied his leadership.
Resolve in the Liberal leader’s office had hardened by Monday morning, with Speakman writing to the parliamentary clerk notifying him Fang’s position as an assistant shadow minister would be terminated. Nationals sources were unconvinced Speakman had the basis to do so, citing correspondence received by the Coalition partners on Friday.
Correspondence with the clerk’s office, seen by this masthead, shows the deputy clerk advising members of the Coalition the changes required “correspondence or other written advice from the Leader of the Nationals. We cannot make these changes until we have received this formal advice”.
Fang used a Facebook post to accuse the Liberal Party leader of “slinking” into Wagga Wagga, “pretending like the Libs actually care about the Riverina”. The Nationals MP said Speakman should have had the “courtesy” of informing him of his upcoming trip. The post was deleted eight hours later.
Speakman sacked Fang – who was shadow assistant minister for police and emergency services, regional NSW, and agriculture and natural resources – with immediate effect on Friday, saying his public comments made his position untenable.
But Saunders defied Speakman’s edict, saying as a member of the Nationals, Fang could only be removed from his assistant shadow ministerial roles by himself and the party’s leadership team.