SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia’s National Party, the junior partner in the conservative opposition coalition, said on Tuesday it would not re-enter a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party, after the coalition lost a national vote this month.
The Liberal Party and the Nationals have a century-old partnership in both state and federal politics in which they share power when in government.
“Our party room has got to a position where we will not be re-entering a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party after this election,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters.
“The National Party will sit alone on a principle basis, on the basis of looking forward, not having to look back and to try and actually regain important policy pieces that change the lives of the people we represent.”
Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor party won a historic second term this month in a dramatic comeback against once-resurgent conservatives, powered by a voter backlash against global instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies.
Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to win consecutive terms in two decades.
Littleproud said his party had differences on the Liberal Party’s refusal to support nuclear power and over regional infrastructure funding. But he said he remain committed to “having the door open” for more talks with Sussan Ley, the new leader of the Liberal Party.
Ley, a former outback pilot with three finance degrees, was elected as the party’s first woman leader after opposition leader Peter Dutton lost his seat in the May 3 election.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Tom Hogue and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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