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Nationals may seek fresh coalition deal

The federal coalition agreement may be up for renegotiation should Barnaby Joyce retain his seat in the New England by-election.

2 min read

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Source: AAP


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Barnaby Joyce has not ruled out renegotiating the coalition agreement with Malcolm Turnbull if he is returned to parliament.

Mr Joyce is fighting a December 2 by-election in his NSW seat of New England after the High Court disqualified him over his dual New Zealand citizenship.

The leaders of the Nationals and Liberals reconfirm the coalition agreement after every federal election.

But the court decision has thrown up the situation of the Nationals leader having to recontest his seat mid-term and a drop in the party's frontbench numbers.

Asked by AAP on Tuesday whether he was open to renegotiating the agreement, Mr Joyce said: "That's all hypothetical. First thing I'm going to do is focus on winning the seat of New England."

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"I think that's a good question to ask someone on December 3," he added.

The Nationals will be down one member on the frontbench, with NSW senator Fiona Nash also disqualified by the court.

She is expected to be replaced by the next person on the 2016 NSW coalition Senate ticket, Hollie Hughes, who is a Liberal.

However, another National Matt Canavan was cleared by the court and has been restored to cabinet.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will need to at least discuss the Nationals' frontbench positions and numbers with his coalition partner after the by-election.


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