Yahoo Finance NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro to face no-confidence vote in parliament
The New South Wales National party leader, John Barilaro, will face a vote of no-confidence when parliament resumes on Tuesday after the junior Coalition partner had a very public stoush with the Liberals over koala protections.
Barilaro appears likely to hang on to the Nationals leadership, and the job of deputy premier that comes with it, when his party meets early in the day. But Labor’s no-confidence motion on the floor of the lower house later could set the stage for some Liberal MPs to show their displeasure by not turning up for the vote.
The opposition motion is likely to be defeated but will provide further theatre on a day when Barilaro will be the focus of question time attacks and the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, will be asked to publicly support her deputy.
Related: The NSW deputy premier threatened to blow up the Coalition: was it really all about koalas?
Working relations between the Liberals and Nationals are at an all-time low and a joint party room meeting on Tuesday – the first since the koala stoush – promises to be a toxic encounter.
Over the weekend, Barilaro adopted a defiant and unapologetic tone, saying: “I’ll be in cabinet and I’ll be at ERC [expenditure review committee] and I’ll be as vocal as always, fighting for the bush.
“It’s simple: if you don’t like it, you know where the door is.”
Berejiklian, who stared down Barilaro last week by saying she was prepared to swear in a new ministry if he did not back down on his threat of moving to the crossbench, has refused to utter his name.
Over the past three days, she has said only that the leadership of the Liberals’ Coalition partner was a matter for the Nationals.
“As premier, my responsibility is to work with the leader of the Nationals and the deputy premier and that’s what I will always do, but it is not for me to decide who that person is,” she said.
Several Liberals, however, have vented their fury privately and publicly at Barilaro’s actions.
Senior Liberals with responsibility for the state environmental planning policy (Sepp) on koala habitat protection have vowed there will be no concessions on the policy while Barilaro remains leader. It is due to be discussed in cabinet in early October.
Over the weekend, a number of MPs turned up the heat, calling his leadership “untenable” and saying he should resign.
The police minister, David Elliott, continued his critique of the deputy premier on Monday.
“This isn’t an isolated case, but it was unprovoked,” he said. “I don’t think that it’s healthy when you have your own deputy come around and threaten to bring the joint down just when he may not have got his own way.”
Related: NSW Nationals ditch threat to quit Coalition as John Barilaro's leadership condemned as 'untenable'
The Nationals leadership is, however, determined by the Nationals’ party room. Among those 19 MPs, there appears to be little appetite for jettisoning their volatile leader, and none of the possible alternatives seem likely to move against Barilaro on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the water minister, Melinda Pavey, said she supported the leader. The minister for regional roads and Barilaro’s deputy, Paul Toole, told ABC radio over the weekend that “Barilaro has our full support”.
Adam Marshall, the agriculture minister, is said to not be seeking the leadership and is content with his portfolio.
Without a clear challenger, it is likely Barilaro will survive in the short term, and he shows every sign of digging in.
Barilaro enjoys the strong support of at least six of his party room, four of whom had threatened to sit on the crossbenches over the policy on koala habitat protection, which they argue will diminish the value of land that has been mapped as key koala habitat.
The NSW opposition leader, Jodi McKay, said Barilaro had to stand aside.
“I say to those Nationals ministers and the backbenchers that think they can keep backing him – think again,” the Labor leader said on Monday.
“The sentiment is against you on this. Are your priorities about stable government or are your priorities about backing a man who puts himself and his own interests ahead of the citizens of NSW … time and time again.”
The NSW Nationals’ central council is due to meet on Thursday and sources said Barilaro was likely to use the meeting as a chance to shore up his leadership.
