The Nationals blaming Anthony Albanese today for the Coalition split is not analysis — it’s farce.
The Prime Minister didn’t walk into the Coalition party room. He didn’t force Nationals senators to defy their own shadow cabinet. He didn’t tell them to torch collective responsibility and then act surprised when the roof collapsed.
They did that themselves.
This wasn’t Labor dividing the Coalition. It was the Nationals once again choosing tantrum over discipline, spectacle over substance.
After a bruising election defeat, the Coalition needed seriousness. Instead, the Nationals delivered a public meltdown — and now blames Labor for the mess they created.
That doesn’t demonstrate strength. It demonstrates a party that is no longer serious about governing.
And a party that cannot manage itself, cannot honour its own decisions, and cannot tell the truth about its own behaviour does not deserve the automatic support of the bush.
Regional Australia deserves representation that fights for outcomes — not one that mistakes chaos for conviction and blame-shifting for leadership.
Anthony Albanese didn’t break the Coalition.
The Nationals did.
And pretending otherwise only confirms just how far they’ve drifted from being a serious political party at all.
Denise McHugh is an experienced educator in Tamworth. She is Chair of the NSW ALP Education and Skills Committee and Deputy President of the Independent Education Union (IEU).
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