Overview
- Andrew Hastie resigned as shadow home affairs minister after being told he would not lead the Coalition’s immigration policy work, saying he could not remain silent on the issue.
- He ruled out an immediate leadership challenge to Sussan Ley and said he will stay in the Liberal Party and speak freely from the backbench.
- Ley appointed James Paterson as acting spokesman for home affairs, with a broader frontbench reshuffle to be confirmed.
- Moderate senator Paul Scarr, the shadow immigration minister, is expected to steer the Coalition’s immigration policy formulation, while the party has only signalled that migration numbers should fall.
- The split followed Ley’s new ‘charter letters’ enforcing shadow‑cabinet solidarity, which she says Hastie could not accept; Liberal MPs say the timing complicates scrutiny efforts in Senate estimates this week.