On Friday, Coalition MP Andrew Hastie resigned from the Shadow Cabinet over a dispute on immigration policy.
Hastie, who was serving as the Shadow Home Affairs Minister, said that he had been told he wouldn’t be responsible for shaping the Coalition’s immigration policy, and as such, he was “not able to continue in this role and remain silent on immigration”.
So, what’s happening with the Coalition?
Liberal leadership
Sussan Ley became the leader of the Liberal Party after the Coalition’s loss at the federal election in May, taking over from Peter Dutton.
She is the first woman to hold the position in the party’s history.
Ley is also part of the moderate faction of the party, meaning her appointment was seen as a decision by the party to move more to the centre.
However, since Ley became leader, there have been reports of internal disagreements about the party’s ideological direction.
Andrew Hastie
Until Friday, Hastie had served as the Shadow Home Affairs Minister. He is from the conservative wing of the Liberal Party.
Over the last month, he had been sharing opinions that differed from the party’s position.
He had also been commenting on policies outside his portfolio.
For example, he suggested the Liberal Party should reconsider its pre-election policy of achieving net zero by 2050.
The Coalition is currently reviewing its policies.
Net zero refers to balancing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and removed from the atmosphere.
Resignation
In his announcement, Hastie said Ley had “made it clear” that he would not lead the Coalition’s response to immigration matters or develop the Coalition’s immigration strategy.
Your contribution ensures The Daily Aus can continue doing the work you love.
I want to give $10 monthly to help TDA keep doing the news.
Your details:
As such, he said: “I made the decision that I was not able to continue in this role and remain silent on immigration.”
Recently, Hastie has made public remarks about reducing the number of people migrating to Australia and his belief that Australia needs to manufacture more products domestically.
Like energy, the party is yet to reveal its official post-election policies in these areas.
Hastie added in his announcement that he was resigning “out of respect for Sussan [Ley’s] leadership”.
In an interview on Saturday, he said: “On the backbench I’ll continue to advocate for things that I believe in.”
Leadership tilt
There had been speculation in recent weeks that Hastie would try to run against Ley for the Liberal Party leadership.
When asked if his resignation was to allow him to run against Ley, Hastie said: “There’s no challenge to Sussan. I support Sussan, tried to do this in good faith, and here we are.”
He added: “I didn’t consult widely, and my objective was not to create any sort of instability for Sussan. I wanted to do this... in a respectful manner, and I think that’s what I’ve done so far.”
Ley's response
Following Hastie’s resignation, Ley issued a statement that said she had issued all members of the Shadow Cabinet with a “charter letter”.
She said these letters provided members with “clear direction” on general expectations, policy priorities and performance indicators.
Ley claimed these letters were developed in “extensive consultation” with the Shadow Cabinet, including Hastie.
She said Hastie told her on Friday that he would be “unable to comply with this longstanding and well-understood requirement, and on that basis he would be resigning his position”.
She added: “Hastie did not raise any matters relating to policy on this call.”
Senator James Paterson will become the acting Shadow Home Affairs Minister until Ley announces a reshuffle.
