Conservative Liberal senator Cory Bernardi is set to quit the coalition within days to form his own party, sparking questions about what his new-look political outfit will look like.
The South Australian will take his long-anticipated leap this week as parliament returns from its long summer break, according to reports from News Corp, Fairfax and the ABC.
The party is expected to stem from his Australian Conservatives movement, which has more than 50,000 members and hosts a website hinting at its policy priorities.
In the latest post to its website, the group hailed 2016 as "the year of the underdog" and promised this year would be "massive".
It trumpeted the rejuvenation of centre-right politics on the back of the Brexit referendum result in the UK and Donald Trump's victory in the US, tipping similar outcomes in France and Holland.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"Here in Australia, however, conservatives could be forgiven for feeling a little short-changed by the political establishment," it said on December 19.
The group railed against "radical gender ideology" in schools and voiced its frustration about the blocked same-sex marriage plebiscite and talk of an emissions trading scheme.
It also fumed about Cabinet ignoring calls for reforms to race-hate speech laws.
Reports Senator Bernardi will jump ship within days have prompted questions about which of his coalition colleagues may also walk the plank.
Outspoken conservative Queensland MP George Christensen previously promised to use the summer break to reflect on his own future.
Senator Bernardi has ties to political donors including Australia's richest woman, mining magnate Gina Rinehart.
He has made no secret of his disillusionment with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and previously indicated he may start a new party for disenchanted conservative voters.
Senator Bernardi was on secondment in New York for the entire 2016 federal election campaign, and was enraptured with the rise of US President Donald Trump.
He regularly posed for photos with senior Trump aides and donned a "Make Australia Great Again" cap before posting a self portrait to social media.
The South Australian regularly purges the contents of his Twitter account.
Senator Bernardi's imminent resignation is similar to that of Don Chipp, who quit the Liberal Party in 1977 and founded the Australian Democrats.
