January 28, 2026
Member for Flynn Colin Boyce plans to move a spill motion next Monday afternoon to challenge Nationals leader David Littleproud.
Mr Boyce told the media on Wednesday morning that the party’s decision to quit the Coalition for the second time in less than a year was political suicide.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Boyce said he would be moving the spill motion in the Nationals’ party room “to give my colleagues an option”.
“The reality is, (if) they follow the course they’re on now, we are going over the political cliff.”
Mr Boyce, whose electorate is adjacent to Mr Littleproud’s seat of Maranoa, is a familiar face in the South Burnett and handed out certificates at the South Burnett Regional Council’s Australia Day awards ceremony in Proston on Sunday.
He has also been a strong campaigner against what the Nationals label as “reckless renewables” and has been invited to be a guest speaker at a Renewable Energy information night to be held in Kumbia next month.
Three Federal electorates cover different slices of the South Burnett: Wide Bay (Llew O’Brien), Flynn (Colin Boyce) and Maranoa (David Littleproud).
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Statement By Colin Boyce
Today, I formally announced that I will call a leadership spill motion at Monday’s National Party meeting.
I intend to put my name forward for leader of the party.
I have announced my intentions early to give my colleagues the time and space to consider this important decision.
It is imperative that the National Party survives, and I believe the best way to ensure this is by remaining in Coalition with the Liberal Party.
The reality is that if the National Party goes to the next election alone, our Senate positions in NSW and Victoria will be under threat, as will Lower House seats due to three-cornered contests.
The National Party is an institution that has served rural and regional Australia for more than 100 years, and I want it to remain a strong and viable force well into the future.
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Statement By David Littleproud
As Leader of The Nationals, I have always respected the Party Room’s decisions and direction, that includes the right to voice different opinions.
We celebrate that freedom within The Nationals.
I stand by my record as Leader of The Nationals and what our Party Room has achieved, through important policy work and standing up for regional, rural and remote Australia.
The Nationals held all of its House of Representatives seats at the last election.
The Nationals also fought to keep important policies, including the Regional Australia Future Fund, tougher action on supermarkets with divestiture powers, Universal Service Obligation reform to ensure better mobile phone coverage in regional areas, and dumping net zero while keeping all energy options on the table, including nuclear.
More recently, The Nationals opposed Labor’s hate speech laws, due to the unknown slippery slope of stopping freedom of speech.
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