David Littleproud has been elected as the new leader of The National party, replacing Barnaby Joyce. New South Wales senator Perin Davey will serve as his deputy.
The decision to dump Barnaby Joyce as leader came after a two-hour long meeting on Monday morning.
It’s traditional for the National party to declare all positions vacant following an election. Prior to the meeting Joyce had said he was confident he had the numbers to maintain his leadership position, noting that the Nationals had not lost any seats at the election.
Speaking to the media after the vote Littleproud said the change in leadership was about taking the party forward to the next election.
“The National party today starts its journey towards 2025, with a vibrant team, ready to articulate the policies that are important to regional and rural Australia, but also to draw on the experience of two former deputy prime ministers in Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack.
“To build that bridge of unity and purpose, to make sure that regional and rural Australia isn’t forgotten here, to draw on the experience of those great men, not only those that are there, but those that have come before us, and these great women that stand here with me as the future of the National party, in taking us forward to 2025.” Littleproud said.
Littleproud joined the Australian parliament in 2016 representing the Queensland seat of Maranoa. He previously served as Minister for Agriculture, Mister for Water Resources, and Minister for Northern Australia. Prior to moving into politics he worked in banking.
In 2017 he was one of four MPs who voted against marriage equality. Littleproud’s electorate had voted NO in the postal survey, with 56.1% of respondents voting against same-sex marriage.
Senator Perin Davey joined the parliament in 2019 having previously worked in communications, including a stint as Communications Advisor to Nationals senator Ron Boswell. She has not previously had any ministerial experience, but served as the National’s senate whip in the last parliament.
OIP Staff
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