Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has announced she will leave the Nationals to sit with the Liberal Party in the upcoming parliament.
Price, who holds the shadow ministry for Indigenous affairs, is a Country Liberal Party senator for the Northern Territory. Until now, she has chosen to sit with the National Party in Canberra.
Her move comes as the Coalition finds itself in a state of disarray following a catastrophic defeat at the federal election. On Saturday, opposition leader Peter Dutton lost his Queensland seat of Dickson to Labor’s Ali France.
It’s been reported that Price will defect to the Liberal Party to join Angus Taylor’s leadership team, as he goes up against Sussan Ley to become the next opposition leader.
In a statement on Thursday, Price said: “I am eager to fight for the best interests of all Australians as part of the Coalition. I believe I will be more effective in this regard if I am a member of the Liberal Party, especially as the party faces a significant rebuild after Saturday.”
“I am deeply appreciative of the opportunities the National Party under David Littleproud’s leadership has given me, most notably the responsibility of leading the No campaign in the Voice referendum,” she said.
“I do, however, feel the Liberal Party is my natural home and somewhere I can contribute meaningfully.”
As a Country Liberal Party senator, Price has the freedom to choose which party room within the Coalition to sit in.
In the election campaign, Price made headlines when she told reporters she wanted to “make Australia great again”.
During the last term of parliament, Price became well-known as the face of the ‘No’ campaign during the Voice to Parliament referendum.
Peter Dutton appointed her to a government efficiency portfolio in a similar vein to Elon Musk’s DOGE project in the United States.