Nationals prepare for leadership ballot as Warren Truss announces retirement as leader

The party members expected to run for the deputy’s position include; Mr Coulton; NSW MP Michael McCormack; Victorian MP Darren Chester; NSW MP David Gillespie; NSW MP Luke Hartsuyker; NSW Senator Fiona Nash; and Queensland MP Keith Pitt.

A decision on Robert’s future appears imminent.

Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb announced on Wednesday that he too will leave politics at the next election. He will stay on in his portfolio for a time but has indicated he will step down from the frontbench in the next few months.

Despite the unrest, the coalition has said the turnover of ministers will have a “positive effect” going forward.

Getting the reshuffle done is becoming urgent, given that significant changes will be made and time is short in an election year. Turnbull will announce his reshaped ministry this weekend, the newspaper said, without citing sources.

Mr Truss said his time as trade minister was his least fulfilling, admitting his achievements were small in comparison to Liberal minister Andrew Robb.

“I think continuity in this portfolio is important and that’s been the prime minister’s advice to me as well”, he told Sydney’s 2GB on Thursday. The former chief of the National Farmers’ Federation and federal director of the Liberal Party has been a member of parliament since 2004.

“What I guess my objective was when I became leader, somewhat reluctantly, was to rebuild a party that was at that stage at a pretty low ebb”.

“I’ve never been in better shape, physically or mentally”.

Truss said he had come from a small farming district and went to a very small state school.

Joyce, the deputy Nationals leader and agriculture minister, has long expressed an interest in succeeding Truss in the top job and is considered to have the numbers to win the contest.

“He has been a dependable and effective Deputy Prime Minister at the epicentre of government”. “We’ve still got a lot of exceptional talent coming through”.

Tensions between Mr Truss and Mr Joyce, the heir-apparent, have been cited as the reason for the delay, with claims Mr Truss had been deliberately holding out, hoping the extra time would allow an alternative candidate to gain support sufficient to deny Mr Joyce his long-held ambition of leading the Nationals – a post which comes with the deputy prime ministership thrown in when in office.