Updated ,first published
Populist right-winger Matt Canavan has been elected leader of the Nationals in a major pivot for the ailing regional party as it seeks to take on Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.
Canavan had spent years rebelling against the Coalition’s net zero emissions target and arguing for the use of fossil fuels. He has taken on a more disciplined role since the opposition dumped net zero as a policy position last year, telling colleagues for months he was ready to lead the party.
The senator, speaking in his first press conference as party leader on Wednesday morning, marked out battle lines with One Nation, labelling the minor party leader as divisive and ineffective, and arguing the Nationals were a genuine grassroots movement fighting for all Australians.
“Pauline has been in politics for more than double the time I’ve been, and I struggle to point to a single dam, single road, single hospital that Pauline has delivered in Australia,” he said.
Canavan said he stood for the role because Australians were losing their standard of living.
“They’re losing their confidence, we’re losing our relaxed and larrikin nature, and we have to fight back for Australians,” Canavan said.
“All we need to do to revive our great nation, is to have more Australia. We need to have more Australian farming, more Australian manufacturing, more Australian jobs. We need to have more Australian everything.”
Canavan won the party room vote, having needed to convince his colleagues that his straight-talking, Christian-right brand of politics was fit to take on One Nation, which is eating into the regional party’s support in the regions as it portrays the Coalition as meek and out of touch on migration and energy.
Former deputy leader Kevin Hogan was viewed as the safer pick and won support from most of Littleproud’s more moderate support base.
Canavan, a father of five from Queensland, has shown colleagues in recent months that he has the fight and nous to joust with Hanson, criticising her for her remarks about Muslims, portraying the party as impotent and driven by protest, and questioning Joyce’s character when he defected from the Nationals.
Darren Chester was elected as Canavan’s deputy. Chester is one of the most moderate MPs in the National Party and will help alleviate worries from Liberals that Canavan is too right-wing to lead the junior Coalition party.
Canavan, a firm economic interventionist, previously served as Joyce’s chief of staff and the pair have been close allies for years. He will also need to overcome the hurdle of leading a major party from the Senate.
The vote, which the Nationals do not disclose, was expected to be tight heading into the meeting.
David Littleproud had stunned nearly all his colleagues when he quit after Question Time on Tuesday.
Only Kevin Hogan, Littleproud’s loyal deputy who had not previously been viewed as a candidate with the energy and drive to lead the party, was told in advance. Hogan was told of Littleproud’s decision early on Tuesday.
One MP said the decision to tell Hogan early and hold a ballot the morning after Littleproud’s call appeared designed to give Hogan the best chance of winning.
Canavan has been planning for years to eventually run for the lower house seat of Capricornia, should Michelle Landry retire as expected.
Paul Sakkal is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and has won Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect via X or email.
Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
