Rough with the smooth: Dutton cruises into Liberal leadership but fight is on in the Nationals
Former defence minister Peter Dutton has become the first Queenslander to lead the federal parliamentary Liberal Party.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton. (ABC Photo)
The MP for the northern Brisbane seat of Dickson was confirmed as Scott Morrison’s replacement after the party meets on Monday, with NSW MP Sussan Ley voted in as deputy leader.
Earlier, Queensland Liberal MP Stuart Robert on Monday said their run for the parliamentary positions won’t be contested.
“Peter Dutton … and Sussan Ley will be sworn in by the party room uncontested,” he told Nine Network.
“(I’m) super happy about the party room and the leadership team we’re bringing in.”
Dutton, a former police officer, spruiked his credentials for the job of opposition leader following his nomination.
“In a prime minister you need someone who won’t buckle in hard times and will stand up for our country and I have proven that in the portfolios I’ve had,” he wrote on Facebook.
“My work ethic is second to none and I have the skill and experience having served five leaders and have learnt from each.”
In his post, Dutton vowed Australians would see another side to his character, after having held difficult portfolios.
“I hope now, in moving from such tough portfolios, the Australian public can see the rest of my character. The side my family, friends and colleagues see.”
Dutton also pledges to take the party back to its core values, and represent the aspirational “forgotten people” regarded as the nation’s middle class.
“We aren’t the Moderate Party. We aren’t the Conservative Party. We are Liberals,” the post reads.
The Liberal Party has never had a leader from Queensland since it was founded in 1944.
The smooth Liberal leadership transition stands in contrast to the jostling going on inside its coalition partner, the National Party, where at least three MPs will put their hand up for the top job.
Current leader Barnaby Joyce is face off against his deputy David Littleproud, who threw his hat in the ring at the weekend, and former veterans’ affairs minister Darren Chester.
The Nationals’ party room meeting stretched on for more than an hour and a half on Monday with no sign of a result.
Joyce made his case on the Seven Network ahead of the meeting, saying the junior coalition party must be doing something right given it retained all its seats at the federal election.
“We won every seat we had before the election, we had three retiring members and still won the seats (and) we were in striking distance of one of the two seats we will be able to take in the next election,” he said.
“The Liberals lost 19 seats.
“In the last two elections, that I’ve been the leader, we’ve only picked up seats. We must be doing something right but the job is not over.”
Joyce refused to say if he had to numbers to remain leader.
“That’s hubris. You don’t run around telling people you’ve got the numbers, you leave that to the room and I’ll be doing precisely that,” Mr Joyce said.
Despite the Nationals retaining all their seats at the May 21 poll under Joyce, the former deputy prime minister has been accused of having Liberal blood on his hands after his strong support of coal turned inner-city voters off sitting moderate Liberals.
Littleproud said on the weekend it was the appropriate time to put himself forward to lead the Nationals ahead of the 2025 federal election.
Joyce reclaimed the Natoinals leadership in June 2021 after rolling incumbent Michael McCormack.
