Opposition Leader Sussan Ley faces an increasingly emboldened conservative backbench bloc after Andrew Hastie's resignation from the frontbench over immigration policy, Liberal MPs have warned. Hastie stepped down on Friday, claiming Ley had sidelined him from shaping the Coalition's immigration policy ahead of the next election, despite his home affairs portfolio.
Victorian Liberal Sarah Henderson said on Sunday that Hastie had been 'sidelined' for his views on immigration, adding that 'the backbench is a very powerful place to be'. The resignation has undermined plans to scrutinise the government in Senate estimates hearings this week, including over Optus triple-zero outages and the return of Australian women and children from Syria.
Liberal MPs have downplayed any immediate challenge to Ley's leadership, but stressed backbenchers are allowed to speak freely on policy. Shadow immigration minister Paul Scarr, a moderate, is expected to lead the Coalition's immigration policy formulation. Ley has described Labor's 185,000 permanent migrant target for 2025-26 as too high.
Hastie and Nationals including Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan have pushed for the opposition to drop its support for net zero by 2050. Ley may look to resolve the internal debate on net zero sooner than planned to calm internal ructions.
