Liberal infighting spirals ahead of migration fight, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Hollie Hughes trade blows

A war of words has erupted between current and former Liberal members after an ex-senator quit the party in disgust at the behaviour of some MPs.

Hollie Hughes, who lost her Senate seat at the last federal election, resigned from the Liberals on Tuesday, accusing some of her former colleagues of undermining Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

“There are some people who are completely inept, who are lazy, who are not across the details,” she told 2GB radio.

“It is an absolute rabble.”

Ms Hughes also accused the conservative faction of using women to do the undermining, singling out Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Sarah Henderson.

“(They) are being used, quite frankly, by the boys who want to challenge but don’t have the gumption to go out and say anything themselves,” Ms Hughes said.

On Wednesday Senator Nampijinpa Price issued a fiery response on the same radio station.

“It’s pretty disappointing to hear that sort of commentary from a woman ... it’s just a ridiculous notion,” she said.

“She’s clearly bitter, and that’s her issue to deal with herself.”

The former shadow minister was dumped from her winnable senate spot in the lead-up to the 2025 election in a factional deal which she says was orchestrated by potential leadership contender Angus Taylor.

Ms Hughes rejected suggestions her comments were a reaction to losing her senate spot.

The opposition leader faced a barrage of questions about her former colleague’s resignation during media interviews on Wednesday morning.

“Hollie is a dear friend,” Ms Ley told Nine’s Today program.

“Her statement clearly speaks to the warmth of our friendship,” she added, while refusing to be drawn on Ms Hughes’ criticisms of her colleagues.

Ms Hughes now owns a pub in the NSW central west.

As infighting over climate change, energy and immigration policy threatens to topple Ms Ley’s leadership, one of the party’s most senior moderate senators urged his colleagues not to walk away from the Liberals altogether.

Party members widely viewed Ms Ley’s decision to abandon net zero emissions by 2050 as a major concession to the party’s conservative factions and the Nationals.

Andrew Bragg warned about the “fragmentation of the centre right” over climate change policy, urging party members who disagreed with dumping the 2050 target to stay within the fold.

“This outcome is not a reason to walk away from the party,” he said on Tuesday.

A fight is also brewing over immigration, with the party’s conservative flank pushing for dramatic cuts to Australia’s migrant intake.

A newspaper report on Wednesday suggested the coalition would not set a formal immigration target until closer to the election, but a conflicting report said the party would cut net annual migration by about 100,000.

Asked about that number, Ms Ley said her figure would be released “in time”.

“The net overseas migration rate now is 100,000 higher than it was pre-COVID,” she said.

Ms Ley also warned the party needed to be careful about where it cuts the nation’s migrant intake to avoid impacting the critical supply of skilled workers from overseas.