NewsHail
28 May 2025
Australia’s main opposition party, made up of the Liberals and Nationals, has joined again after their leaders agreed to reunite.
This happened a week after they broke up.
Liberal leader Sussan Ley thanked Nationals leader David Littleproud for working respectfully and well together. They also shared their new shadow cabinet with members from both parties.
The split happened last Tuesday because the two parties could not agree on important policies. Now, it seems those problems are fixed.
Littleproud said the focus is on holding the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor government responsible, which is important for democracy.
Ley said the Coalition will be “stronger and better together” and looks forward to working for the Australian people.
Last week, Littleproud said the Coalition had split and joined before. He wanted to work with Ley to rebuild the partnership before the next election.
Ley took over from former Liberal leader Peter Dutton after the party’s poor results in the recent election, where Labor won by a large margin. Ley wants to bring the Liberals back to the center-right.
The relationship between the two parties had problems, especially on climate and energy.
The two parties agreed to stop plans to build seven nuclear power plants but want to remove the national ban on nuclear power.
Other agreed policies include more spending on regional roads, better internet and mobile in rural areas, and better competition in supermarkets.
At the press conference, both leaders did not talk about net zero climate goals. Ley said these talks will happen inside the policy process.
Mark Kenny, an expert, said the reunion was a big win for Ley. He said the split was a negotiating move to get more power for Littleproud’s party.
Many experts thought the Coalition would reunite. Pandanus Petter said neither party can govern alone, so the Nationals wanted to show their power and get more from the Liberals.
The Liberal-National team has split and joined many times since the 1940s.
The last time they split was in 1987.
