But Franklin revealed he informed Toole about the move weeks ago,and that rather than opposing the move,the now former leader told him “this is really good for us”.
“I’m frustrated because Paul hasn’t been honest about what took place here,” Franklin said. “I thought the leader of the party was happy with it,and I was acting under that assumption.”
Those revelations immediately sparked fury inside the Nationals,with one senior MP saying earlier on Monday they would tell Toole he could not remain leader after misleading the party room.
“Tooley has lied to us,he has made us look like fools,” the National MP said.
The leadership change meant that on the eve of parliament the Coalition is scrambling to have a full shadow front bench in place.
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The Liberal Party on Monday elected a new deputy leader in former roads minister Natalie Ward.
Ward’s nomination was delayed because it required a change of party rules to allow a member of the upper house to serve as deputy. That change passed during a meeting on Monday,before she was elected by 27 votes to eight over Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman was due to hold a hastily arranged meeting with Saunders on Monday night in a bid to finalise the Coalition agreement before Tuesday.
Franklin’s nomination has enraged Coalition MPs because it would give Labor an effective majority in the evenly balanced upper house.
The NSW Nationals also threatened to boot Franklin out of the partyand refer the deal to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog if he accepted the position.
In a statement sent to the Nationals party room confirming his intention to nominate for the president job,Franklin said he hoped to remain a member of the party,of which he had been a “devoted” member for 15 years.
“It is,of course,entirely a matter for the National Party if they determine a different course of action regarding my membership,” he said.
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On Monday,Saunders would not confirm if he would push for Franklin to be expelled from the party.
“Let’s wait and see if he’s elected,first of all,then we do have some decisions to make both as a parliamentary party room and then as,I guess,a greater NSW National Party,” he said.
Toole was contacted for comment.
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