Party elder, Ian Sinclair, certain Nationals will mend coalition fences

The man who led the Nationals during its last divorce from the Liberals believes the coalition partners will eventually reunite.

Ian Sinclair was leader of the Nationals during the coalition’s five-month split in 1987, which was triggered by then-Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s push to enter federal parliament.

The ‘Joh for Canberra’ campaign drove a wedge through conservative politics and collapsed without widespread support.

Mr Sinclair is confident the latest trial separation will not last forever, saying a split after an election wasn’t unusual and issues would eventually be resolved.

“It has happened before and will happen again,” the 95-year-old told AAP.

“It’s quite a healthy thing.”

Party leader David Littleproud pulled the Nationals out of the coalition after Liberal Leader Sussan Ley said she couldn’t commit to four policy demands, including keeping nuclear power as part of an energy policy.

Ms Ley didn’t reject the policies, but said she couldn’t commit to anything before her party had a chance to have an open discussion about policy after a massive election defeat on May 3.

Mr Littleproud and Ms Ley say their doors are open for renegotiating a coalition.

But Liberal sources believe the Nationals weren’t serious about signing a deal as they pushed for a demand they knew couldn’t be met.

This also included Mr Littleproud becoming deputy opposition leader rather than the Liberals’ second-in-command.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said the policy impasse was the only thing her party room considered when deciding to leave.

But she tiptoed around whether a demand had been made for Nationals in shadow cabinet to vote against coalition policy.

Members of shadow cabinet - made up of both Liberals and Nationals when the coalition are in opposition - must vote in line with determined policy positions to show solidarity.

Asked if Mr Littleproud could have inserted the clause in his list of demands, Senator McKenzie told the ABC’s 7.30 program, “there are a lot of conversations about what might be part of a broader coalition agreement if we could get past the first gate”.

But a spokesman for Ms Ley said it wasn’t correct to suggest cabinet solidarity wasn’t an issue.

“We have in writing that it was a requirement from their leader’s office to ours,” he said, although the letter hasn’t been released publicly.

Senator McKenzie acknowledged a consequence of the split would be her Senate spot was at risk at the 2028 election as the Nationals run on a joint ticket with the Liberals in some states, including her home of Victoria.

The same is true for Nationals senator Ross Cadell in NSW.

Without a combined vote, the Nationals could struggle to get the quotas needed in each state to retain their seats when they don’t run candidates in metropolitan areas.

“Bearing in mind that those decisions and those negotiations are part of our state bodies ... we were all cognisant of the risks and made our decision, irrespective,” Senator McKenzie said.