Asked if he feared a potential coup,Littleproud said he had no reason to suspect a challenge to his position.
“No,I have no reason to believe that. I’m just simply getting on with the job,” he said.
“I am comfortable in my own skin. Since I became leader,I asked for a national energy summit that has now got even the Liberals across the line in wanting to explore nuclear energy.”
According to sources who asked to remain anonymous so they could comment freely,Joyce can count on about six votes including himself,out of 21 MPs and senators.
News Corp reportsin recent weeks have claimed Littleproud’s leadership is under threat due to his failure to secure an ongoing commitment for $30 billion in funding for Nationals pet projects.
Ahead of the 2022 federal election,then-prime minister Scott Morrison cut a deal with Joyce – then-deputy prime minister – in exchange for the Nationals’ support for a Coalition policy to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This masthead reported more than$20 billion had been promised in the March 2022 federal budget for dams,regional economic stimulus and a rail link through Queensland coal fields.