Liberal Party defector Ian Macfarlane has been blocked from moving into the Nationals’ party room in a decision likely to put further strain on the Coalition and hasten the end of the former resource’s minister’s political career.
Advertisement
THE Groom federal divisional council in Toowoomba agreed by a strong majority on Saturday to allow the former Liberal industry minister to sit in the Nationals party room in Canberra.
The LNP’s state executive is due to meet on Monday to assess the council’s decision.
Addressing reporters briefly after the meeting, Macfarlane said the state party executive would have to answer to grassroots members in his federal electorate of Groom for failing to conform with their wishes.
“I felt that this was the only way I’d be able to continue to be an effective voice in my electorate”, he said.
“I’ll make an announcement in the New Year”.
“What I was hoping for was a mechanism to get better representation to regional areas and to regional Queensland”, he said.
Mr Truss, the Deputy Prime Minister, said at the time Mr Macfarlane was angry he was dumped from the Ministry after supporting Malcolm Turnbull in his successful leadership challenge against Tony Abbott.
The decision has quashed the Nationals’ hopes to gain an extra Cabinet seat, but Mr Spence said he was hopeful that any future reshuffle would go “some way towards correcting that imbalance”.
“The LNP remains strong and committed to providing Queenslanders with the good government they deserve at all levels”.
Macfarlane entered parliament in 1998 as a Liberal MP.
Gary Spence has described Macfarlane, also known as “Macca”, as a “tremendous servant” of the people of Queensland, Australia and the Liberal National Party. Malcolm Turnbull was never adamantly against increasing the Nationals’ frontbench representation at a politically appropriate juncture – he just wouldn’t do it to reward a traitor.
The dumping of Macfarlane was a surprise given he was close to Turnbull personally and was a key backer during his turbulent period as opposition leader.
Speaking to media after today’s lengthy meeting, Mr Spence declined to say what the final numbers were in the vote on Mr Macfarlane’s proposed defection to the Nationals but conceded it was “very close”.
Advertisement
In the lead-up to the decision, senior Queensland Liberal ministers George Brandis and Peter Dutton said Macfarlane had hidden his plans when he was recently re-endorsed to contest the next election on the basis he would remain a Liberal. “We never touted for business”, he said.
