David Littleproud has been elected as the new leader of the conservative National party after a party room vote on Monday, ousting incumbent Barnaby Joyce and former minister Darren Chester.
Senator Perin Davey from New South Wales will be the deputy leader.
In his first press conference as leader, Littleproud said the Nationals, which is the minor party in the centre-right Coalition, are “the conscience of rural and regional Australia” in the parliament.
Meanwhile, Davey promised that the Nationals would “continue to be a strong voice for the regions.”
“We’ve got three years to make sure we hold the new government to account and to make sure they don’t forget the regions, and they don’t sell us short by doing deals with other parties and other interests,” she said.
In a statement, Joyce, who retained his seat in New England, wished the new leadership team well and hinted he does not plan to leave parliament.“I suppose you think I am sad. Not really,” Joyce said.
“I gave every ounce of my energy to make sure that I looked after the people of regional Australia, the people in the small family businesses, the people in the weatherboard, and iron, the people on the farms, making sure that we drove the investments to take their standard of living ahead.”
The Coalition’s defeat, largely to the teals and Greens, has been interpreted by some MPs as a failure by the outgoing government to take climate change action seriously.
“This is not about the National lurching left or lurching right, it’s using common sense and being in the sensible centre. That’s where you win elections, not chasing extremities.”
Littleproud noted that the National party’s “first principles” are about reducing emissions to net-zero by 2050, which could be achieved by improving biosecurity.
“I don’t think regional and rural are against reducing emissions,” he said, noting that the main issue is detailing a plan on “how you’re going to pay for it and who will pay for it.”
His view was in stark contrast with Nationals Senator Matt Canavan, who argued the Coalition will never be able to sell “net-zero socialism.”
The conservative senator added that the net-zero emissions agenda was “for the massive expansion of government and corporate control” which doesn’t align with the Coalition’s principles of individual freedom, low tax and limited government.
“By supporting net-zero, our opponents by signing up to the radical, green idea that we should totally transform how we make food and energy, within a generation, using technologies that don’t yet exist.”
