Nationals Shadow Ministers Prepare to Resign from Frontbench

Updated January 21, 2026 — 10:41am,first published 10:18am You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Nationals shadow ministers are drafting their resignation letters as they prepare to depart Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s frontbench following a split with the Liberals over hate laws. Nationals Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald are expected to quit the opposition frontbench after they voted against Labor’s hate crimes bill late on Tuesday night. Their vote came despite the Coalition shadow cabinet agreeing to work with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the laws after he dropped the most contentious elements of his post-Bondi legislative package, an anti-vilification law that they thought might have curbed free speech. The laws ultimately passed with the support of Labor and Liberal senators late on Tuesday night. Advertisement Nationals and Liberal sources said the three senators were drafting resignation letters at 9.30am on Wednesday, but Coalition leaders were still working out how the process of resigning would play out to minimise damage and avoid a formal split of the Coalition. Some Nationals MPs feel that it would be over-the-top to force resignations, given Labor forced the chaotic and rushed legislative process. One threat on the table is that all Nationals frontbenchers would quit if McKenzie, Cadell and McDonald were forced out. But a Nationals MP confirmed they were preparing to quit because the convention was clear on shadow cabinet solidarity. “The outcome is inevitable,” one senior MP said. Another MP said something remarkable would have to occur to avoid the resignations. Advertisement Ley held a meeting of her leadership group earlier on Wednesday. Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack said he held out hope that Nationals frontbenchers would stay in the shadow cabinet, arguing the two parties had split on policies in previous decades. “If the Liberal Party was sensible, they would not be going down that path,” McCormack said on Sky News. The Nationals baulked at a watered-down section of the bill on prohibiting hate groups after Nationals backbencher Matt Canavan raised concerns that the laws could target political and religious groups. Advertisement The four Nationals senators, McKenzie, Cadell, McDonald and Canavan, voted with the Greens and several crossbenchers against Labor’s bill at about 11pm on Tuesday. Liberal senators joined Labor senators to pass the laws. Earlier in the day, Liberal MPs in the lower house voted for the bill, including Ley and Andrew Hastie. Nationals MPs abstained from that vote. Shadow ministers are obliged to follow the position agreed by the cabinet. Cadell on Wednesday morning said he is currently considering offering Ley his resignation from shadow cabinet. He also acknowledged that he voted against the bill with the expectation that he may be sacked from his position as opposition water and emergency services spokesman. “Shadow cabinet solidarity is that we have to be prepared not to have our positions should we vote against it,” he told media at Parliament House. “I take responsibility for my own actions.” Advertisement Earlier on Sky News, he said: “If I am still a member of this shadow cabinet next week it’s because of the understanding, tolerance and leadership of Sussan Ley. “I understand if you do the crime, you have to do the time and if it is requested, I will stand down.” McKenzie, the Nationals Senate leader, refused to answer questions about her future within the Coalition. Asked repeatedly on Wednesday whether this made her position as opposition infrastructure spokeswoman untenable, McKenzie said she was “very aware of the conventions of parliament”. Advertisement “I will be doing what I’ve always done, which is trying to do my very best to conduct my career here with integrity,” she said on Sky News. “The National Party made a principled decision on the hate laws. We’re very glad to vote, and lead on voting, against the flawed firearm legislation.” Nationals MPs met on Wednesday morning while Ley consulted her Liberal colleagues on the best course of action. Some MPs believe it would be harsh and needless to sack the Nationals shadow ministers because the rushed legislative process made it hard for opposition MPs to feel comfortable backing Labor’s legislation. Complicating matters for Ley was that Liberal frontbenchers, including Michaelia Cash, abstained from voting. Foreign Minister Penny Wong seized on the tension to create a leadership test for Ley. Advertisement “A very important question now is there for Sussan Ley. The shadow cabinet made a decision to support this legislation, but shadow cabinet members have voted against it. Will she enforce the convention that people, shadow cabinet members, who vote against the shadow cabinet position have to resign, or will she squib it?” Wong said. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. More: Political leadership Sussan Ley Bridget McKenzie Liberal Party Nationals Parliament House Paul Sakkal is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and has won Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect via Twitter or email.