A confidential review into the Nationals’ performance in last year’s Federal election found a plan for nuclear power became one of the party’s few policies voters knew about — and was not popular.
While voters were primarily worried about inflation, they associated the country-based party with a plan to build seven government-owned nuclear power plants devised by then-leader Peter Dutton and Queensland Liberal MP Ted O’Brien.
“We were perceived as the ‘party of nuclear’ three times more than we were seen as the ‘party of cost of living relief’,” the NSW-focused review by former Victorian Nationals director Matthew Harris writes.
“In an economic environment where families were struggling, our signature message was a niche, long-term energy policy, not an immediate solution to their primary concern.” A similar Liberal Party review leaked this week revealed the campaign was marred by deep tensions between Mr Dutton and his head office over strategy and organisational control.
The NSW Nationals review draws attention to another serious but little-noticed problem facing the Coalition: once-safe rural seats are becoming vulnerable as support for the Nationals shrinks to a rump of mainly male voters over 55.
The review presents a grim future for the party, which was founded in 1920 to advocate for government services in rural areas and has been instrumental in forming Coalition governments since.
Even though the Nationals retained all their lower house seats, party officials were disappointed at their performance in the 2025 election.
Senator Perin Davey was defeated, the party failed to win back Calare from defector Andrew Gee, and wasted money and resources fighting for Hunter, where it finished third behind One Nation and the Labor Party.
The review blames a “dysfunctional” combined campaign headquarters of Liberal and Nationals staff,....
