00:00The drama here in Canberra just feels like it hasn't stopped all week.
00:06But look, Michael McCormack has just appeared on afternoon briefing and as you say, he said
00:10that he's not going to roll David Littleproud to win the party's leadership any time soon.
00:16So to take you sort of back to this morning, the ABC had been told that Barnaby Joyce, another
00:21Nationals MP, was hoping that Michael McCormack, or was telling colleagues that he hoped Michael
00:27McCormack could take on the leadership role.
00:30He said, Mr Joyce, that is, that after the week that's been with this sort of national
00:35split from the Liberals and breaking up the coalition, that he didn't think that Mr Littleproud's
00:41leadership was tenable any longer.
00:44Now, Michael McCormack said this morning that he wasn't mounting a challenge and that he
00:49had ambition for David Littleproud in the leadership role.
00:54Now, that comment raised eyebrows, certainly, because you might remember these remarks from
00:592018.
01:02Can you rule out having any leadership ambitions?
01:07Me?
01:08This is my leader.
01:09There you go.
01:10And I'm ambitious for him.
01:12Yeah, good on you.
01:12Thanks, Goma.
01:13Now, in 2018, just a couple days after that, Scott Morrison did end up rolling then Liberal
01:22Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
01:24And that's why it's raised so many eyebrows.
01:27So, Michael McCormack just appeared on afternoon briefing again today and was asked about that
01:33comment.
01:34What did he mean by it?
01:35No, look, it was a bit tongue-in-cheek.
01:38I'm a student of political history and just answered the question.
01:43I am ambitious for David.
01:44I want the nationals to be the best they can be and he's our leader and I support him.
01:48I'm not planning on rolling David anytime soon.
01:52Tongue-in-cheek comment from Michael McCormack there, but he must know the waves, comments
01:56like that would make Evelyn.
01:58Meanwhile, there's been action in the other side of the other wing of the Conservative Parties
02:04of Australia.
02:05Tell us more about what's happened in this Liberal Party meeting this afternoon.
02:08So, Susan Lee, the Liberal leader, did convene her party room this afternoon, a very last
02:14minute meeting.
02:15What happened is they gave, in principle, agreement to four key policies that the nationals were
02:22demanding.
02:22So, this has been one of the things at the centre of this very dramatic breakup between
02:28the two parties this week.
02:30The nationals wanted this solid commitment from the Liberals on nuclear power, divestiture
02:36powers to be able to break up the supermarkets if they abuse their market power, a $20 billion
02:42regional fund to help with things like infrastructure and then also universal telecommunications right
02:49across the country.
02:50So, Liberals say that they've given, in principle, agreement to this, notably with the nuclear
02:56power.
02:57It is on lifting the moratorium on nuclear power, not going so far as the election commitment
03:03around building seven nuclear power sites across the country.
03:07Now, the reason Susan Lee did have the confidence to convene this meeting and, I suppose, take a
03:13step forward, really, in the coalition relationship is she felt yesterday that David Littleproud had
03:19made sufficient public comments around giving shadow cabinet solidarity.
03:25So, she felt like she had a commitment from him around that because she was a bit uneasy
03:29about it earlier in the week.
03:31That happened.
03:32Then she called this meeting today and they will now give, in principle, support to those
03:38policy demands from the nationals.
03:40So, Susan Lee will now go back to David Littleproud and meet with him.
03:44We do understand, though, from at least one Liberal source that they still feel like there's
03:48some negotiation to go in these policy areas, but that they do have that, in principle, demand.
03:54So, it certainly is a step forward in the coalition relationship.
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