Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will defect to her “natural home” at the Liberal Party, saying it is “somewhere I can contribute meaningfully” during a “significant rebuild” in the wake of Saturday’s selection.
The Northern Territory Country Liberal senator had previously sat in the Nationals party room.
Price said it was not “a decision I have taken lightly” and not “in any way a reflection on the National Party”.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
She is also keen to “fight for the best interests of all Australians” and believes she will be better placed to do that as a member of the Coalition with the Libs.
“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. A rebuild I feel obliged to play a robust part in,” she said.
Price was a key figure in the no campaign against the Voice referendum, would have led Australia’s version of DOGE if the Coalition was voted into power, and during the election said she wanted to “make Australia great again”, echoing Donald Trump’s famous “Make America great again” rally cry.
Price saic it was time “we stop whispering our values and start declaring them again”.
“Not as fringe ideas, but as the foundation on which this country was built,” she said.
“Let this serve as a reminder that our duty is not to win favour with the few, but to stand united with the many.”
It comes as the Nationals wait to hear whether they will need to elect a new deputy leader, with Perin Davey at risk of losing her NSW Senate spot.
No one has officially announced a tilt, but NSW MP Kevin Hogan and Senator Bridget McKenzie have been touted as potential deputies, as was Price.
Nationals MPs will hold a caucus meeting in Canberra on Monday.
