Andrew Hastie refuses to say if he’ll challenge Sussan Ley for Liberal leadership after Coalition implosion

Liberal leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie has refused to say whether he would challenge Sussan Ley following a second Federal Coalition implosion. Speaking outside his Mandurah home on Thursday morning, the Canning MP wouldn’t say if he’ll would use the resignation of the Nationals front bench over hate crime laws in the wake of the Bondi massacre, to make a leadership tilt. “I’m not commenting on it,” Mr Hastie said. “These are complex matters.” Hastie has long been considered a front-runner for the Liberal Party leadership, with party sources also touting Angus Taylor as another strong contender. Sussan Ley’s time could be up, after Nationals Leader David Littleproud said his Party will break away from the Liberals for the second time since the election, blaming the opposition leader for “forcing the Coalition into an untenable position that can no longer continue.” “It’s done. I spoke to Sussan Ley about half an hour ago and made her fully aware,” Mr Littleproud said on Thursday. Inside Liberal ranks there is still no certainty on which candidate should challenge Ms Ley for the leadership or whether a special party room meeting will be called before Parliament’s scheduled return in early February. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also leapt on the Opposition turmoil, describing the Coalition as a “smoking ruin” that is not fit to run the country. “We know that Sussan Ley’s days as Opposition Leader are numbered, but to be fair to her, all the alternatives in the former Coalition are worse.” “Angus Taylor put a policy forward for higher deficits, and Ted O’Brien wanted to build nuclear reactors and push prices up, Andrew Hastie makes Tony Abbott look like a sensible moderate.” “I think the kindest thing you can say about the Coalition is that it is a smoking ruin. I think they are paying a price for putting internal politics before public safety this week in the parliament,” Mr Chalmers told reporters.