EXCLUSIVE
The New South Wales opposition is in total chaos after a stalemate between the respective leaders of the coalition partners.
Daily Mail Australia has leaked a clip of a chat in the Nationals’ banquet hall, showing just how serious the impact of the crisis is.
In the chat, an MP was furious about the publication 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 cannot simply be torn up without consultation. He demanded an urgent party floor meeting or he would leave the party.
The text fireworks erupted after Mr Speakman visited the state seat of Wagga Wagga this week, where he met local independent MP Joe McGirr.
However, the flying visit was not well received by Nationals Upper House MP Wes Fang, who took to social media to criticise his coalition leader, who was clearly angry at not being included in the trip.
Mr Fang, who is also the House of Lords leader and a member of the Coalition party group, described Mr Speakman as “stealthy” who only “pretends” to care about Wagga Wagga and “sneaks” into the city.
Mr Fang even suggested that the Liberal Party leader’s time was up and he should step down.
Leaked texts between Nationals NSW MP Geoff Provest and state party leader Dugald Sanders reflect state coalition turmoil
Mr Provest was not easily persuaded that the rift between the coalition parties was not serious
“That should tell you everything you need to know about the longevity of ‘Speako’s’ leadership,” Mr. Fang concluded his social media post.
Mr Speakman responded yesterday by issuing a media statement dismissing Mr Fang from the Coalition front bench.
He said Mr Fang’s social media post made his position “untenable” and Mr Speakman invited Nationals leader Dugald Saunders to appoint another National to fill the vacant position.
But Saunders has defied the Opposition Leader’s attempt to sack Fang by issuing his own press release last night, claiming that only he as leader can sack a front-line member of the Nationals.
Because the coalition agreement is not public, it is difficult to determine who is right with this interpretation.
Mr Saunders made it clear he would not sack Mr Fang and that his Nationals colleague would retain his position on the Coalition front bench despite Mr Speakman’s attempt to sack him.
Nationals Party NSW leader Dugald Saunders is facing a potential rift after disagreeing with NSW leader Mark Speakman over the fate of an MP
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman’s (pictured) visit to the state seat of Wagga Wagga was not well received by Nationals MP Wes Fang, who took to social media to criticise his coalition leader and was clearly angry that he was not part of the trip.
This has created an untenable situation for both party leaders. There is a risk that one or both of them will lose their leadership position. There is also a possibility that the coalition agreement between the parties will be torn up altogether.
Daily Mail Australia has exclusively received text message correspondence from the Nationals party room group chat highlighting the escalating situation.
The longest-serving member of the Nationals party chamber, Mr Provest, wrote in the chat: ‘The coalition agreement cannot be torn up without any consultation or discussion in our party chamber.’
He requested an emergency meeting in the banquet hall to resolve the issue.
Tweed MP Geoff Provest was determined to hold a party room meeting to address the apparent divide between the coalition partners
Mr Provest wrote that if a meeting is not convened he would be forced to ‘consider my membership of the National Party’.
In an attempt to downplay the intolerable situation, the Nationals leader responded by writing that he and Mr Speakman are “on very good terms” and that “there is absolutely no tearing up of our agreement.”
However, the long-serving Nationals MP did not believe his leader’s message and responded bluntly: ‘With all due 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 very unusual in my time in parliament. I urge a meeting in the party room to discuss the continuation of the coalition agreement. The party room must be consulted. Will you call a meeting in the party room to discuss this?’
The crisis in the NSW Coalition was sparked by an extraordinary social media post from Nationals MP Wes Fang criticising Mr Speakman
The Nationals leader responded curtly, “Sure, buddy, leave it to me.”
Daily Mail Australia understands there is a mood within the Nationals to end the coalition agreement, but there are also concerns this could backfire on the junior coalition partner.
Liberals fear that if the coalition remains intact – unless the Nationals leader relents and agrees to Fang’s dismissal from the group – the opposition leader’s authority will be “shot to shreds,” as one Liberal MP put it.