3 Senators Step Down From Shadow Cabinet After Refusing to Support New Hate Laws

The move creates fresh challenges for the opposition, which had struggled to maintain traction against the Labor government last year.

Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley gives a condolence speech in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 19, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

Australia’s opposition has been thrown into renewed turmoil after three National Party frontbenchers were forced from the shadow cabinet for defying a unified position on Labor’s hate crimes legislation.

On Jan. 21, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley accepted the frontbench resignation of Senators Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald, and Ross Cadell after they voted against the bill in the upper house on Jan. 20, despite the shadow cabinet agreeing to support it with amendments.